Freeze Frame

This Irish movie is my surprise hit of the weekend so far. I've never heard of this movie, and had no idea what to expect except what is on the DVD box, which looked pretty good. The story is about a guy that was accused of a brutal triple homicide ten years ago, and was let go because of technicalities. Since he believed he was being set up the police, he started videotaping every single thing he has done since then, 24/7/52, believing the cops were trying to hang other murders on him, he's turned into a real paranoid. And for good reason, because a dying sick detective is trying to get him for anything he can, before he dies himself. Bring into this a forensic crime writer who keeps giving lectures and writing books about guilty criminals that get off because of technicalities. So, our guy even has a camera mounted on his torso pointing towards his face whenever he leaves his bunker like home, which has cameras everywhere possible. Along come the cops who accuse him again, of a murder five years ago, and when he goes to find that particular tape, it is missing. YEEKS!!!! Then things get really complicated for him, and we get into a bunch of twists and turns towards the climax of the story, that made this a great Saturday night flick that's a little off center, and somewhat disturbing. Great movie, and I hope some of the rest of you have a chance to see it. Very very original, and quite creative, with excellent performances. This is my pick of the week for something out of the blue.

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.

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.

I knew nothing of this film until the day i saw it. I came across an advert for it in a local newspaper, checked out where it was showing and went to see it that night. I was gripped by the idea of this bizarre story of paranoia taken to extremes. The acting was, for the most part, very well done, Lee Evans proving he is far more than a slap-stick comic by portraying his character with stunning levels of emotion. Direction was fantastic, building the paranoia throughout the film. The only thing that let it down was the OTT ending which had me groaning in dismay. There were too many twists (most of which were blatantly foreseeable) within the last few minutes. Character development was also a little too staggered. Some of the characters seemed to change completely from one minute to the next, no gradual change or hints beforehand... On the whole, this was an intriguing film, well acted and well directed. One of the better films of the year. Maybe its time Hollywood took some notice that you don't need $200 million+ to make an enjoyable movie.

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'.