A battle-scarred bodyguard was paid to protect the daughter of a mining tycoon, unaware of an imminent responsibility she didn't signed-up for.
Directed and written by Vicky Jewson,
Close is an action-packed film, loosely based on Jackie Davis' biography, a real-life female bodyguard, and one of the first originals premiered under Netflix's belt. In a recent
JoBlo interview, Director Jewson discussed that the inspiration behind making this film is that she wanted to tell a female-driven narrative and so Davis' accounts were a perfect material to start off with and having Noomi Rapace as the obvious choice to play the part.
Surely enough, the film doesn't waste any moments as we are introduced right into action. Sam Carlson (Noomi Rapace), a counter-terrorism agent / personal bodyguard, was escorting a female hostage outside of what seems to be somewhere in a deserted town in the middle east, when they were ambushed by a group of small-time resident terrorists. Channeling her inner Lisbeth Salander from
The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo and the seven sisters from
What Happened to Monday, Rapace didn't disappoint as she showed her brutal, decisive and hardcore demeanor.
Sam was later hired to protect an heiress, Zoe Tanner (Sophie Nélisse), daughter of the deceased businessman and an owner of a major mining company, and escort her to a secluded rest house atop the mountains while Zoe's stepmother, Rima Hassine (Indira Virma) was in the middle of closing an important business deal. Unaware of an imminent threat, the rest house was intruded by a group of unknown assailants hired to abduct Zoe for ransom, probably in connection to a typical rich family disputes. Sam was now forced to protect Zoe outside of her contract, and put her own life in grave danger.
The Good
The opening credits, accentuated by kaleidoscopic patterns and elevated by slow-paced, sensual music from Candy Says & Canham's cover of Running Up That Hill was so hypnotizing and reminded me a bit of the opening credits for every James Bond movie.
Noomi Rapace has been slowly building her own portfolio as one the best but underrated femme fatale action superstar. Her performance was arguably the best part of the film and proves that she's not a monotonous actress, able to showcase both an emotional angst and an authentic badass attitude.
Sophie Nélisse didn't under-perform as well. She was given the typical temperamented white girl brat, but Director Jewson made sure that her character would be of use and would grow out of her own self-righteousness.
The story itself, while not a first, was compelling and thrilling enough, with a right mix of action and interpersonal communication among its characters, making the audience see through their little nuances and understand their motivations while making sure we are on the edge of our seats.
One favorite moment I had was when that hired assailant was talking with another cop about how he was basically a courier for the families of his dead co-terrorists and he had to pay them money in exchange of their lives. Usually, the goons were portrayed as dispensable characters but in this film, even though just a hint, they were written of as actual people with lives outside their dirty day jobs.
The Bad
While I like the action sequences, I would've preferred if they opt to be more creative with it, or maybe a long hallway fight scene akin to that of Netflix's Daredevil series.
Eoin Macken who played Connall in this film was written off as a thankless character and his presence was supposed to be an additional layer to humanize Sam but their quasi-romantic relationship didn't quite materialize because of it. It wasn't so much of a big deal but it honestly baffles me how a female empowering movie cannot have a strong and useful male influence inside its story.
Sadly, the film fell victim of an anticlimactic ending. It felt rushed and every setup carefully laid down at the first half of the film were seemingly thrown away and as a result, fell flat as Indira Virma's one note character. Director Jewson had the right tools for a perfect film, but I thought she became overhwhelmed with her own story and she didn't know what to do with it towards the end.
Should You Watch It?
The film had its merits with its talented casts, great music choices, gorgeous cinematography and an interesting plot to boot despite being a saturated genre which will never be dull if done right.
Close is a high-stakes action drama that started off great but was knocked-out early by its own adrenaline-induced punch out narrative.
7/10
Reel Points
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