Civic Duty
The war on terror just came home.
Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) "delivers a tour-de-force performance" (The Hollywood Reporter) in this "intense and startling movie" (Maxim) about an ordinary man driven by paranoia and fear to take national security in his own hands! "A riveting microcosm of the tense, turbulent times in which we live" (WNBC's Reel Talk), Civic Duty is an "arresting" (Variety) thriller that takes the face of terror and brings it home!
When Terry Allen (Krause) loses his job in the wake of 9/11, his world is flipped upside-sown. Terrified of another attack, assaulted by heightened threat levels and enraged by complacent citizens, Allen's worst nightmare comes true when a "middle eastern" man moves in next door. But when his new neighbor's suspicious activities lead Allen to believe he's uncovered a terrorist conspiracy, nothing can prepare him for just how far he's willing to go to protect his home and his country.
Member Reviews
Disappointing, Hollywood Predictability - islandreview
I hated this film and thought that it pretended to be something it really wasn't. The film pretends to look at racial stereotyping and the effects and influence the media and government agencies have over ordinary people, but in the end, the story tells us that people are not pranoid or misled at all - the director wants us to believe that "the middleeastern guy" was a terrorist and the ordinary white guy wasn't crazy after all. I thought this film was totally racist. Peter Krause disappointed me after the good work he did in Six Feet Under. I would not recommend this movie. Yuck!Good, but it starts to lose its meaning - eoguy
*** Note, some discussion about the ending, in vague detail ***
I found this to be a pretty good movie. When I saw the commercial many months ago (apparently it was in theaters but if it was it wasn't anywhere near me), I had some preconceived notions about why I would hate it but this film turned out to be pretty good. The extremely narrow focusing (half of a person's face in focus other half not) that was used semi-often got kind of annoying after a while but it was pretty easy to look past that. One thing about this movie is that it likes to expose things to the viewer with close ups (close up on Terry's severance paycheck, close up on the classified listings for accountants, etc.) and personally I think it is a good method of exposition; I can appreciate this method as a film student but I'm sure other's can find it pleasing as well (and some finding it unpleasing perhaps). As far as the story goes, I thought it was a pretty good one but I didn't love the very last scene, I found it tore down the entire meaning of the movie, or at least what I found the meaning to be. I don't want to spoil anything so see for yourself and you be the judge. Overall, the film is pretty good, nothing spectacular I thought, but good, worth watching once I'd say.A Tense Psychological Thriller - newdaysof
This film explores a number of interesting themes in the paranoia created by Bush and the mass media after 9/11. It shows how a regular guy, an accountant who is laid off and who is quite fed up with the alienation of modern society, slowly descends into fear, paranoia and ultimately violence.
The excellent script and actors keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next and how far things will go. It explores how unemployment can lead to the sense of powerless and frustration with ones own life and how it can manifest in different ways. It also explores how the media and the Bush administration brainwash the masses into a state of fear as a method of squashing political dissent.
There are many plot twists that keep you guessing who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. You think the guy next door is a terrorist, then you're sure the vigilante is just crazy. Then just when you think you've figured it out, you're surprised again. It also explores the motivations and justifications used by the terrorists and forces us to examine our own society. The themes this film covers will be relevant for many years to come.
Member Reviews
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Disappointing, Hollywood Predictability - islandreview
I hated this film and thought that it pretended to be something it really wasn't. The film pretends to look at racial stereotyping and the effects and influence the media and government agencies have over ordinary people, but in the end, the story tells us ...Good, but it starts to lose its meaning - eoguy
*** Note, some discussion about the ending, in vague detail ***
I found this to be a pretty good movie. When I saw the commercial many months ago (apparently it was in theaters but if it was it wasn't anywhere near me), I had some preconceived notions ...A Tense Psychological Thriller - newdaysof
This film explores a number of interesting themes in the paranoia created by Bush and the mass media after 9/11. It shows how a regular guy, an accountant who is laid off and who is quite fed up with the alienation of modern society, slowly descends into fear, ...