Civic Duty (2006)

Always liked Peter Krause from 'Six Feet Under'. Just had to see this film. We definitely recommend this movie and found it unpredictable. We could feel the frustration of him losing his job while talking to the bank teller. It was never really clear whether or not he was paranoid or justified in suspecting his neighbor. The ending keeps you guessing. At the very end of the film when it appears that Terry is watching a news report on poisoned envelope glue. The reflection in his eye is that of the golf coverage. This implies that he is hallucinating the news. However, there is also a brief reflection of the news in his eyes as well. What does this mean?

This movie does a good job of showing the viewer how a psychologically disturbed personality can interpret neutral stimuli in a paranoid fashion. The use of the scripted newscasts were reminiscent of the news coverage post 9-11.It was a movie that was well-acted and well directed to show how one misconception can lead to another - and how a bad situation can turn into a nightmare with just a few missteps. There were also some surprisingly humorous moments as the neighbor who is held hostage comments on the situation at hand to a man who is obviously losing his grip on reality.It is ashame that the movie disappoints in the end by insinuating that the neighbor was indeed a terrorist. This drags what was a well-crafted story down to a cheap potshot of a film that stereotypes all non Caucasians as terrorists. This implication taints the picture and helps to fuel the paranoid delusions of pathetic individuals such as the one portrayed in the main character.

The topic is very interesting, and somewhat important in the face of the post-9/11 terrorist attack, resulting in a backlash of suspicion by many US citizens toward people of middle-eastern descent or culture.This paranoid-episode focuses on a down and out man, and the suspicions he experiences when a new neighbor of apparent middle-eastern background moves into a nearby apartment. Various pre-existing marital tensions in his marriage contribute to fuel his determination.All of the acting is well-done. Most everything is well-done. But it's just plain depressing and down-mood, from beginning to end, so don't plan on watching it for weekend escape-entertainment.If you were hoping for action, there's almost none of it here. Even on suspense, there's very little. It's more of a drama with a slight edge at a few points in the latter third of the movie. The last minute or two of the movie's ending left me unclear on what had happened and what was implied. I felt that it could be interpreted at least two different ways.Overall, it's a worthwhile movie with food for thought. But I wouldn't think of it as invigorating or thought-provoking-- it was more frustrating, from my point of view.

I found the characters to be very believable. The conversational script was very realistic. I enjoyed all of the characters. The pacing of the movie keep me on the edge of my seat. Contrary to other comments, I found the FBI agent to be very 'real' and the script here to be exceptional.I know what's it like to laugh all the way through a movie and have had this experience when it wasn't appropriate. It happens to me when the writing is poor or the story line unbelievable. I'm sorry that there are some that were affected this way - this is absolutely opposite of my experience.The topic is timely and intense and well handled in the context of our times. There are many questions that are asked in this film that should be asked over and over. We don't have answers and maybe that frustrates some.