Civic Duty (2006)

Director:

Jeff Renfroe

Writer:

Andrew Joiner (written by)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The War On Terror Just Came Home

Plot:

An American accountant bombarded with cable news and the media's obsession with terrorist plots in the post 9-11 world, receives a jolt when an unattached Islamic graduate student moves in next door.

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Accidental Shooting | Paranoia | Nurse | Fear

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Peter Krause	...	Terry Allen
Kari Matchett	...	Marla Allen
Richard Schiff	...	FBI Agent Tom Hilary
Khaled Abol Naga	...	Gabe Hassan
Ian Tracey	...	Lieutenant Randall Lloyd
Vanesa Tomasino	...	Bank Teller
Laurie Murdoch	...	Loan Officer
Michael Roberds	...	Post Office Clerk
Agam Darshi	...	Nurse
Mark Brandon	...	Night Anchor Bret Anderson
Brenda Crichlow	...	Day Anchor Tricia Wise (as Brenda M. Crichlow)
Val Cole	...	Morning Anchor Susan Harwood
Mark Docherty	...	News Reporter Chad Winslow
Michael St. John Smith	...	Legal Analyst
P. Lynn Johnson	...	Govenor Bradley

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some threatening situations.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK | USA | Canada

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Intandem Films

Trivia:

The cast has strong ties to Aaron Sorkin's television projects: Peter Krause starred as anchor Casey McCall in _"Sports Night" (1998)_, Richard Schiff was communications director Toby Ziegler on _"The West Wing" (1999)_, and Kari Matchett did a five-episode run on _"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (2006)_ as attorney Mary Tate.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: All the news scrolls go from left to right, but news scrolls go right to left (at least in languages that read left to right) so you see the first words first. This makes it impossible to read. The filmmakers did this intentionally, and it's up to the viewer to decide why they did it this way.

Frustration, Bigotry, Alienation and Paranoia

After being laid off in a downsizing of his company, the bitter and bigoted American accountant Terry Allen (Peter Krause) faces financial problems with the mortgage of his house. He uses his available time to snoop his downstairs neighbor Gabe Hassan (Khaled Abol Naga), a Middle Eastern student that is having his Master degree sponsored by an Islamic organization in an American university, and calls the FBI to tell his suspicion. However, FBI Agent Tom Hilary (Richard Schiff) asks him to forget Hassan. When Terry tells his wife Marla Allen (Kari Matchett) that he had contacted FBI, she becomes upset and leaves Terry. However, his obsessive bigotry and alienation trigger paranoia against his neighbor and a tragic conclusion.

"Civic Duty" repeats the storyline of "Rear Window", i.e., a neighbor snooping another one, to expose in low pace the prejudice and alienation against immigrants in USA after the infamous September, 11th. Peter Krause gives a top-notch performance in the role of an average American citizen of middle-class, frustrated by the unemployment, bombed by the media with shallow information against Islamic people and his alienation and bigotry becoming paranoia that the poor Islamic student is associated to a terrorist group. The plot is totally believable and the tragic conclusion is very realistic. Unfortunately, the DVD released by FOX gives wrong information in the cover, since it has NO SUBTITLES and NO CLOSED CAPTION. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available