A new film comes to cinemas this week that explores a very modern phenomenon – the increasing presence of surveillance in our everyday lives. With the United States scrutinised heavily recently for the National Security Agency’s surveillance measures, the Irish filmmaker John Crowley’s new work Closed Circuit examines the personal lines that are often overstepped in the name of safety.
The film tells the story of two lawyers who both have to represent a man on trial for an act of terrorism committed in London. As they prepare their cases, however, they uncover an MI5 conspiracy by the very people they are supposed to protect.
Crowley says Steven Knight’s script was the starting point: “I was really impressed with the way it was written. Steven captures London so well and a story that revolved around the British justice system intrigued me, because it’s a subject that doesn’t get covered often.”
It also helped that he had a talented cast to portray that story, with the Star Trek star Eric Bana and the Oscar nominee Rebecca Hall taking the lead as the two lawyers.
“They both brought an enormous amount of emotional intensity,” Crowley says, beaming. “These are characters who, at the beginning of the film, have already had a past, and the way they were able to convey that sense of intensity of feeling was wonderful for me.”
As well as traditional methods of storytelling, the film’s sense of unease and paranoia is conveyed through security camera footage of the characters, spearheaded by the opening scene, where 12 different cameras capture an attack on London’s Borough Market. “That was the hardest scene to shoot,” Crowley says, “because you’re coordinating 12 different moments, picking the dialogue out of all of the noise in the market.”
It is in this method of filming that the most pertinent issue is raised: the constant surveillance of cities such as London, and the ethical question marks such an atmosphere raises. “The interesting thing about it being set in London is, as I learnt during filming, it’s the most monitored city in the free world,” says Crowley. “Whatever conclusions you draw from that, there’s no denying the questions that are raised by the increase of cameras looking at us in the past few years.”
• Closed Circuit is out now in UAE cinemas
