Columbus Circle (2012)

Strictly average movie

Sadly Over-hyped

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

The opening credits feature puzzle pieces floating around the screen along with a catchy soundtrack. Eventually the pieces begin to fit together. The meaning is obvious, and it is a nice beginning.The beginning scene shows an elderly lady, Mrs. Hilary Lonnigan (Bette Beatrice), stalked and murdered by an intruder in her penthouse apartment in a Columbus Circle (Manhattan) high rise. Some will claim that she had fallen down the stairs, but the viewers know she was killed. Across the hall, in the only other loft penthouse apartment, lives a 35 year-old recluse heiress, agoraphobic Abigail Clayton (Selma Blair), who has not left her luxurious apartment for 17 years. The famous daughter of a wealthy, alcoholic, and abusive industrialist, Abigail withdrew from her intrusive family (and the press) on her 18th birthday. During years of her self-imposed isolation, Abigail has had contact with only two people: (1) Dr. Raymond Fontaine (Beau Bridges), a long-time family friend and her sole confidant for most of her life, and (2) Joseph Klandermann, (Kevin Pollak), her building's concierge, with whom she communicates only by notes that he slips under her front door. After the death of Mrs. Lonnigan, Abigail is distressed to find NYPD Homicide Detective Frank Giardello (Giovanni Ribisi) outside her door, asking to question her. Reluctantly she allows him into her residence for a few minutes. Note that Abigail's introductory scenes see her apartment almost completely shadowed by darkness, which is slowly peeled back like onion skins the longer she is forced to endure the detective's questioning. By the end of her questioning, her apartment is covered in full light, signifying the shift that her insulated life has been dragged irretrievably into the world.Meanwhile, having futilely tried to acquire the dead woman's now vacant apartment to ensure her privacy, Abigail is further upset when her requests go unanswered and new tenants, Charlie Sanford (Jason Lee) and blonde wife Lillian (Amy Smart) move in. Abigail intently monitors her new neighbors from the safety of her front door's peephole. But her well-ordered world begins to unravel when the two almost immediately engage in vicious arguments that ultimately involve Abigail, because Lillian gets physically bruised and is subsequently allowed inside Abigail's apartment to shelter her from further abuse. (But why does Charlie look into her peephole from the outside?) Anyway, the young couple has a sinister agenda, along with conspirators. Meanwhile we learn that Klandermann is a wanted felon whose real name is Nathaniel Muskit; Dr. Fontaine too is not what he seems. Then the body count begins to rise. For the time being Lillian tries to deceitfully bond with Abigail for her own purposes, but Abigail soon becomes wise to the ruse. Before long, Lillian, looking like Abigail, enters the Waters Bank to close out a huge account. At this point, my narrative ends, and I will not reveal any spoilers. The central story is engaging, and the story-line's premise does deliver an element of intrigue. On the other hand, the plot fails to live up to its potential. The movie cannot sustain the kind of consistent tension or unpredictability that the best thrillers of this genre boast. Also the character development is generally weak while the script - written director George Gallo and actor Kevin Pollak - makes several jumps in logic that are hard to overlook, especially during a most absurd conclusion. Still, the film remains good enough to be watchable, and Giovanni Ribisi's performance is solid in a relatively small role.

The top notch actors make this film better than some people might think it should be. However it is on its own merits an excellent mystery thriller, with a wonderful soundtrack and a LOT of details left for the audience to see, if only they realized they were significant! On second viewing those details leap out at you.If you guess the plot in two minutes the performances and pace will still keep you enthralled.This is NOT a windows click generation type film with constant sex, bad language, violence or similar gimmicks. It's very much like a taut version of one of Agatha Christie's books -- in fact the murderer in it is 'textbook' Christie.Recommended.

It seems that a lot of users like to bash a movie and talk about how predictable a mystery is, just to show everyone else how smart they are. Talk about what's wrong with the direction even though they don't really know a thing about directing. This is a smart movie with good actors. Some think the villains made illogical and unreasonable choices. Well, most criminals aren't as smart as they think they are and do illogical things when everything starts to unravel. Most criminals aren't smart and don't keep a cool head under pressure. That's why they get caught!This is perceived as a movie about an agoraphobic and everyone is incredulous when she leaves her apartment in the climax. Abigail's doctor has told her she's agoraphobic, but he's in on the con and doesn't want her to have any contact with anyone but him. Remember that she chose to disappear for a reason. She had the privacy she wanted so she had no reason to leave her apartment - and her life was purposefully controlled. People choose fight or flight when threatened. When Abigail comes under extreme threat, she chooses both flight (nowhere to run except OUT of her apartment) and fight (for her fortune without which she could not exist).The doctor's choice of henchmen seems flawed, but what kind of people are you going to get for something like this? First person I would ask would be an ex-con, which by definition is a loser. Greed can fuzzy your thinking. The closer they got to the money, the less logical they became. They kept thinking "just one more person out of the way and we'll have enough money to run where no one can find us".Another user spoke of how dumb the police were. They had already zeroed in on Ray owning both apartments. One user said it was not believable that Abigail was leaving without an identity. She had already transferred her money somewhere. She could by her own plane and pilot. She knew how to disappear - she had done it before.I really liked the acting by Kevin Pollack and Jason Lee. Ribisi always brings a sense of intelligence and also naiveté to his characters. His partner's character could have added humor or at least something with better lines and actor - Samm Levine would have been great as the partner rather than the bank manager.

Bravo to Kevin Pollack, who also co-wrote this refreshing mystery in the style of the Raymond Chandler stories of old. Selma Blair and Giovanni Ribisi (in my opinion one of the most underexposed and capable actors of recent years, re: The Other Sister, Boiler Room, Avatar, etc.) give plausible and perfectly tuned performances in this film. The supporting cast is exceptional. Jason Lee provides the audience with a new perspective on his already estimable talents, not falling back upon his comedic style. Pollack and Bridges, two actors whose abilities are well known, provide us with exceptional supporting characters, as do Jason Antoon and Amy Smart. Although the initial twenty minutes of the film are a bit slow, the action quickly picks up and the conclusion contains a refreshing twist. Cinematography and photography are excellent, and the film has a cohesive feel that provides the illusion of the first time, which is after all the point of acting. Rated PG-13 for language and violence, hats off to the director and writers for not falling into the "gratuitous sex scenes that so often accompany films of this nature. Collectible? Depends on your particular bent, but wouldn't rule it out. Watch it and decide for yourself.