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Year: 2019
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
A military veteran named Sam is hired as a bodyguard for a wealthy heiress named Zoe, who is set to inherit a large portion of a multinational mining company. When a well-financed group attempts to kidnap Zoe, she and Sam go on the run and try to solve the mystery of who is behind her attempted abduction.
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| "Look at it this way. They actually want a woman. It's progress." (Image Source) |
It's great to live in an era where both men and women can be heroes in mediocre, generic action films! "Close" (2019) is directed by Vicky Jewson, who is known for directing films like "Born of War" and "Lady Godiva." She also wrote the screenplay along with her "Born of War" co-writer Rupert Whitaker. This movie tells the story of Sam Carlson (Noomi Rapace), a former soldier and counter-terrorism expert. Sam is hired to act as a personal bodyguard to a party-hard heiress named Zoe Tanner (Sophie Nélisse), who is set to inherit her father's large mining company. Sam is set to accompany Zoe to Morocco, where the company is bidding on mineral rights. Once there, a group of people tries to abduct Zoe, who is later framed for murder. Now on the run, Sam and Zoe must not only survive but have to find a way to prove her innocence and find out who is behind her attempted kidnapping.
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| "Someone tries to kill me, and you're worried about your fucking shares?" (Image Source) |
It's hard to express how middling Netflix's "Close" (2019) is. It is mediocre in almost every way. Noomi Rapace gives a decent performance, some unexpected things happen here and there, and there are a few moments of entertaining action, but other than that, it's painfully average. This story has been told time and time again, and nothing within the script adds anything new to the "vet gets hired to watch a spoiled brat and things go awry" genre. The story also doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The more we think about it, the less we like it. Director Vicky Jewson tries so hard to intentionally mislead the audience to add a bit of mystery that characters' prior actions become inexplicable once all is revealed. There is also a subplot about an estranged daughter that winds up being entirely unnecessary and goes nowhere by the end of the film. "Close" (2019) is yet another title to add to the pile of movies that have a female lead character who is forced to have a maternal instinct whether it's necessary to the story or not. We feel this emotionally manipulative plot point was introduced only to justify Sam's interactions with Zoe. They want Sam and Zoe to have a connection akin to a surrogate mother/daughter relationship when really, bodyguard and client should have been sufficient enough. Sam shouldn't need to have a maternal drive to be a hero.
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| "This is our chance to find out what's going on." (Image Source) |
With some major script revisions, more solid fight choreography, and better pacing, "Close" (2019) could have been the kick-ass female-driven film we've been looking/hoping for, but unfortunately, it wound up being so "meh" that we forgot we watched it the very next day.
BigJ's Rating: 5/10
IMDB's Rating: ~5.6/10
RT Rating: ~39%
Do we recommend this movie: No.
It isn’t as bad as this reviewer thinks…..the ending is lame, but the rest is pretty good.
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