Civic Duty
USA/CAN 2006
By Jeff Renfroe
Terror has lived amongst mankind for a long time. And the big scale terror is at the latest in everybody’s mind since the Oklahoma bombing back in april 19, 1995 when a nine-story government office building was destroyed, killing 168 people. The initial rush of the media was to blame the bombing on Muslim terrorists which was a false assumption. Six years later another terrorist attack would shatter the USA and the world again.
In september 11, 2001 four commercial passenger jet airliners were hijacked by Al-Qaeda-terrorists, two of the planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, New York. The third and forth plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington Country, Virgina, and into a field in Pennsylvania. 2976 people died. The terror didn’t stay on US soil.
Several commuter train bombings occurred march 11, 2004, in Madrid, Spain, killing 192 people. In july 7, 2005 suicide-bombers killed 52 people in the London Underground and a double-decker-bus. Terror is omnipresent and the fear of being victim to terror can cause people to take on questionable actions and degenerate to constant paranoia.
Filmmakers have tackled the subject of terror in general in numerous films, haunting and harrowing examples are Mark Pellington’s
Arlington Road (1999) about a college professor who suspects his neighbour of being a terrorist and Paul Greengrass’
United 93 (2006) which tells the story of the fourth plane of the 9/11 atacks.
In ‘Civic Duty’ we are introduced to Terry Allen (Peter Krause), an accountant who has often changed his employer. In the first minutes we get to experience the growing anger and Terry’s unhappiness when the bank service personal and the post office guy refer him to the ATM and to the postage stamp machine so he doesn’t have to wait in line in the future. Machines replacing people is just what costs him the jobs is Terry’s thinking. That the job and the money is important to Terry is obvious when we get to know Terry’s and his wife Marla’s dream – the own house. Getting a new job is crucial so Terry spends most of the day in the appartment checking the job offers in the papers and writing job applications.
When a new neighbour – a “Middle-Eastern looking guy” as Terry puts it – moves in the appartment complex carrying lots of cardboard boxes in the middle of the night Terry gets suspicious. Being home alone spending much time watching the TV –news channels and being confronted with serious subjects like ‘terrorist cells’, ‘identity theft’ ‘home security’, and ‘illigal immigrants’, Terry decides to keep an eye on the new neighbour. His obsession goes that far that he even searches the neighbour’s trash and follows him to work. As Marla is not happy about Terry’s behaviour to spy on other people instead of officially getting acquainted Terry decides to do what he believes his civic duty is: inform the FBI.
‘Civic Duty’ is a courageous film as it tackles hot issues and the fear of the unknown. Spying on others, curiosity, defamation. Who is wrong and what is right ? Are you a potential terrorist just because your skin color is darker then mine, you confront me with a glare, your habits are others then mine ? It’s plain easy to give in to such superficial observations and base your judgement purely on them without even knowing the person. And the rash thoughts might not be uncommon in todays’s society.
The character of Terry is like a ticking time bomb, he’s unsuccessful in the job, he’s frustrated, he doesn’t feel appreciated (the love and support his wife gives him is at one point not enough). Thru his observations he feels needed, he thinks he’s doing a good job caring for his country. Terry’s restricted view is evident and his arguments are one-dimensional when he’s confronted with the harm the US militiary caused in foreign countries. It results in a superficial helpless response: ‘I’m not my country, I can’t control anything’.
Canadian Director Jeff Renfroe (in his 2nd feature) and writer Andrew Joiner (first-timer) do a great job in keeping us on the edge, presenting us just all the ‘evidence’ Terry discovers as we, the viewers, are constantly following the main actor like in a documentary. A style which successfully worked in Danish crime thriller
PUSHER (1996). This leads to a strong emotional bond between the Terry character and the viewers and you’re torn between giving him the sympathy – he’s a righteous, caring, sincere guy - or the antipathy – he’s closed-minded, stubborn - for his actions and the methods he uses. It’s like a rollercoaster where the situations and their perspectives change often and you’re forced to evaluate the incidents yourself from scratch, deciding who is guilty. The cumulative hectic atmomosphere and the mind-jumps you and the protagonist are going thru are convincingly transported thru the hand-hold camera and the constantly changing fuzziness of the picture. Also the excellent choice of the housing complex in Vancouver, Canada, where the film was entirely shot, adds to the disturbing ‘big brother is watching you’ scenario. It looks ‘normal’ but might hide a threat.
Originally planned as a film for Joseph Fiennes and Mira Sorvino, directed by Vic Sarin viewing the finished film now it’s hard to imagine this intense film without Peter Krause, who also executive produced. Krause, a prolific TV-actor with hit show ‘Six Feet Under’, has already proven with
‘We don’t live here anymore’ (2004) that he’s also a valuable player on the big screen. Now in his first lead he’s absolutely convincing in the tragic story of a Joe Everyman who’s life isn’t going as he has planned pushing himself into a serious situation he can’t assess the outcome. The casting choices are all very good, nobody disappoints. Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga makes a great US-debut as the hard to see through foreign neighbour, Canadian Kari Matchett (CUBE 2) convinces as the loving and self-confident wife and it’s a delight to see Richard Schiff acting, best known for his formidable performance as Toby Ziegler in hit-series ‘The West Wing’. Schiff is at his best in the role of Terry’s FBI-contact, charismatic and authoritarian presence.
Civic Duty is great thriller about an important, actual topic which makes us question ourselves if we treat others with the same respect ourselves want to be treated and that we should be careful with premature judgement. It’s also a fascinating character study which feels bitter and authentic.
mk
[5/5]trailer
