Freeze Frame

The film follows the life of Sean Veil who has been accused of the brutal murder of twin six year old girls, their mother and the brutal assault of their father. Sean knows that he is an innocent man, and although the court can't prove he is guilty, Detective Mountjoy (Colin Salmon) and criminal psychologist Saul Seger (Ian McNeice) are determined that he is and will do anything to put him behind bars. Determined to make sure he is never accused of anything again Sean sets up video cameras throughout his entire home and won't leave the house unless he is being videotaped on his "self-cam". When the police storm his home accusing him of another murder he can prove his innocence - or can he? As the specific tapes that are needed have gone missing.

The film is an incredibly dark, chilling and suspense filled thriller that uses many shots from the CCTV that follows Sean around his life. There is a distinct lack of colour throughout the entire film which adds to the eerie nature. The film uses many images of entrapment throughout by the use of camera shots and tricks and really shows the paranoia that runs constantly in Sean's head - even though the first thing he "must remember" is that 'Paranoia is a malfunction of the ability to reason'.

I saw this film during the American Film Market in Santa Monica and I was surprised by the quality of this movie. The story is very original and the lead actor Lee Evans (There's Something About Mary) showed us that he can do more than comedy.

Evans plays Sean Veil a man who was accused and acquitted of three murders and after that experience he decided that he needs a permanent alibi so he tapes every second of his life. Ten years later the police comes knocking at his door because he is the suspect of another murder. In his collection of thousands and thousands of tapes, safely hidden in a vault, there is a gap so for that time Sean has no alibi and once again he has a major problem.

Sean Veil is the ultimate paranoiac, a man so convinced that everyone is out to get him that he's even begun spying on HIMSELF. However, there is actually a method to his madness, for unlike many paranoiacs, Sean has a valid reason to be fearful and suspicious of those around him. About ten years prior to the time of the story, Sean was falsely arrested for the brutal slaying of a woman and her two young daughters - a crime for which he was eventually acquitted, although the experience has left him emotionally devastated and psychologically damaged. His reputation ruined, Sean has since devised an elaborate system whereby he can videotape himself 24/7, so that he will always have an alibi if someone ever attempts to accuse him again of a crime he didn't commit. Unfortunately, Sean soon discovers that even the latest in modern technology can't guarantee his safety if the forces out to get him can figure out how to beat him at his own game.

This quirky and original Irish film suffers a bit from the constraints of its budget and the amateurishness of some of the performances. Director John Simpson's split screen technique, though intriguing at first, becomes a bit trying after awhile, and the storyline is not always as cleanly and clearly developed as it might be, although the drab, colorless look of the film perfectly reflects the drab, colorless life of its protagonist.

The movie overrides most of its flaws thanks to one element that is the real thing: Lee Evans' searing and uncompromising portrayal of an innocent man driven to the brink of madness by his obsessive need to prove that innocence. With his nervous, soft-spoken demeanor and constant look of terrified submission, Evans makes what could have been a creepy, repulsive character into a thoroughly sympathetic figure. We find ourselves so drawn to his predicament and so involved in his fate that, even at those moments when the movie itself falls flat, we stick with it anyway.

To most people Lee Evans is the goofy comic off the telly, but this film shows that there is more to Mr Evans than meets the eye.

He gives a superbly chilling performance as Sean Veil an acquitted murder suspect who films himself 24 hours a day every day, (the opening sequence shows him being woken by an alarm as he struggles to put a new tape in the camera). He's being chased by a police psychologist, two cops and an investigative reporter who all seem to have dark little secrets of their own.

The film comes to a dramatic and violent conclusion, so take someone with you it your easily scared.

An excellent British thriller.

This is a pretty cool movie. Very stylish with all the handy-cam shots and the unsaturated colour.

A great performance from Lee Evans.

The plot was great but I found the ending a little too convenient and clichéd. I think it would have been better to spread some of the revelations around a bit, or at least give some stronger hints - or did I just miss them? Or was a different ending initially planned?

While watching I was distracted by wondering how such a guy could finance himself for so long? Would have been nice to have been given a simple reason.

Coincidentally I'd watched The Final Cut the evening before and couldn't help noticing the similarity and opposites of the two films. In The Final Cut the main character is tormented by guilt for something he remembers doing, whereas in Freezeframe Veil is tormented by accusations of doing something that he believes he didn't do. Both characters use av-recording technology to help themselves cope.

Anyway, well worth seeing.