Close

Close stars Noomi Rapace as Sam Carlson, a grizzled bodyguard tasked with protected a spoiled heiress (Sophie NĂ©lisse’s Zoe) on the eve of a major corporate takeover – with the job taking on a progressively deadly angle after a series of assassins and kidnappers come after Zoe. Filmmaker Vicky Jewson admittedly does a superb job of immediately drawing the viewer into the proceedings, as Close opens with an exciting and extremely promising sequence detailing Sam’s handling of an attempted ambush in the middle of the desert – with the movie, past that point, seguing into a rather familiar narrative focused primarily on the initially-antagonistic-but-eventually-respectful relationship between the central characters. It’s all fairly watchable yet there’s little doubt that Close ultimately feels like something of a missed opportunity, as Jewson, working from a script written with Rupert Whitaker, delivers an almost paint-by-numbers storyline that could’ve used a heavier emphasis on action (ie Jewson has infused the movie’s all-too-sparse moments of violence with a visceral, engrossing sensibility that leaves the viewer craving more). The end result is a decent thriller that could (and should) have been so much better, with Rapace’s expectedly stirring performance standing as Close‘s only consistently compelling element.

**1/2 out of ****

1 Comment

  1. This film works because the character development synchronises well with the violence. This makes the film more than a run of the mill thriller. The downside is the low standard of acting from the supporting cast. that’s a pity but the scenic representation is realistic and tailored well into the story.. I will watch it again uncritically and this is the mark of good entertainment….

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