User reviews

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.

Lee Evans (best known as stand up, rubbery-faced comedian in the UK) pulls off an astounding performance, and not just for leaving behind the relative comfort zone of comedy. Any 'serious' actor would be similarly lauded, I think. I won't rehash the plot - there are more than enough summaries on here - but what I will say, without spoiling anything, is that the film drives on its plot twists. It's just that at a certain point about 3/4 in, there is almost a twist too many, and the characters appear to be taking longer to work out what the hell is going on, who did what to whom, and why, and then they realise that they were really lying about one thing, and not the other, which drags the film down, with some rather tedious explanations - that still remain thoroughly necessary - which grate after a while. The sense one is left with is that the filmmakers are almost learning the plot along with US, and there isn't a sense of control in the narrative. I mean, obviously they knew what happened, but the tone was of constant uncertainty about how to end it, and who to make the bad guy. So instead of making choices, they choose instead to make EVERYONE the bad guy at one time or another until they hit upon a convenient enough resolution that will satisfy the most amount of people. It is, however, beautifully lit (a scene with Evans leaving his house/warehouse/prison which is backlit with multiple shadows is extraordinary) and the CCTV footage style is never excessive or derivative. The one feeling I was left with having bought it online second hand for about £2.50, was: cool, but I doubt I'll watch that again. At least a year's time before I consider it. It would only be worth it for Evans' performance, as unfortunately, the makers just couldn't get a classy enough backup cast; the Rachel character is a particular weakness, when her role is critical to the narrative, yet she remains the weakest performance here, verging on high school incompetence at times. The notion that British law would ever allow such a blatant miscarriage of justice, when the evidence is SO SO flimsy against Sean, further upsets things. You tend to let it go, though, thanks to Evans brilliant portrayal as a man condemned to fight for his right to innocence. Worth checking out, but don't go out of your way.

This film, although not to everybody's liking, shows the world exactly how talented Lee Evans actually is. We all know his comedy skills aren't lacking (think Parole Officer) but this picture really does show off his acting abilities.

I found it a little slow to start, but it keeps you guessing all the way, whether this is intentional or not it certainly keeps you glued to the screen!

My advice is go grab it! Probably not one to watch again and again but certainly an enjoyable movie, Evans really does shine and makes this movie. Watch out for the crazy plot twist at the end, beats sixth sense's twists any day!

It's a nice dark thriller with a mysterious and puzzling plot which combines strange ambiances and scenarios with a typical criminal investigation. The great novelty of this film is its main character which is a peculiar guy that, to prove his innocence from the accusation of a family's murder, records every second of his life on videotape. He says there's a conspiring plan against him, and to protect himself from false allegations, he tapes his life to prove his innocence. I liked the dark cinematography and the strangeness that dwells all over the film. The final twist is not so surprising as I had heard from other users but it's a nice ending anyway. I score it 7/10, mostly because of its cinematography.

Freeze Frame (2004)

An intensely visual movie about a man who tries to protect himself from police accusations by filming everything second of his existence after being acquitted for a crime he never, apparently, committed. The constant switching from omniscient filming to all kinds of video and web cam views of events makes watching it a constant game. And the lead character, indeed all the main characters, are terrific actors, so the growing thriller is actually thrilling.

There is a sameness to the events after awhile, though, the plot leaning a bit much on the editing and camera-work to succeed, which might seem excellent at first but you end up craving some psychology to make a turn, or some actually new kind of plot twist to take over. It ends with a predictably sensational climax, with some surprise camera footage of the events, and even this is stretched a bit thin.

Curious and visual enough for a look, though, certainly.

Evans rocks as the paranoid Veil. Rarely do we get to see an actor so totally give to a role. His performance alone makes this one worth watching.

The movie starts out promisingly -- a modern Kafkaesque tale of an innocent man pursued by Authorities; but ultimately it's twisting plot (chock full of red herrings and diabolical suspects) stretches pretty thin.

It was very refreshing to see some "new" faces on screen. The lack of certifiable star-power re-enforced the cinema verite aspects of the film.

Any young film-maker would do him/herself a favor by seeing what can be accomplished on a small budget -- provided you have a decent script, good editing and fantastic lead performance.

This film starts off well (although the makers clearly 'borrowed' a lot of their ideas from Darren Aronofsky's 'Pi') - it looks gritty, cold, suitable for a film about paranoia.

The problem is, Lee Evans can't act, and neither can the rest of the cast, and even if they could they'd have to be superhuman to make a script this dreadful sound good.

Overall, it's an interesting idea let down by awful production. The frankly awful plot feels like an afterthought, almost as if someone really, *really* wanted to make a film about a guy who tapes everything he does but couldn't work out where to go with the idea - so they watched an episode of 'Silent Witness' and made some notes on the back of a fag packet.

Verdict: rubbish. Better films, please, British Film Industry. And stop giving Lee Evans work. He acts like a Frank Spencer who's eaten too many blue Smarties. Ooh, Betty, the cat's been filming my secret murders!

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'.

A 'thrown out of court' murder suspect becomes obsessed with being able to prove his innocence at all times. The film delivers minor twists on a journey that takes you into the life of a significantly disturbed individual and is centered around the people that crafted his mental disorder.

Lee Evans shows what he is capable of when not acting as the guerning unfunny comedian that brought him fame (how?!?!).

This could serve as a quality made for TV, BBC 2 parter. On film, well, there's no special effects so sadly, it wouldn't satisfy the majority of modern film audiences. I felt Lee's performance lifted this from a 5/10 to a 7/10. Certainly worth watching.

First off, if someone would go out of his way to such an extend as the main character Veil in Freeze Frame to get himself a life supply of alibi, wouldn't it be a lot easier to just plant a chip somewhere in his arse? Without going into the elaborate details of such a plant; Yes! it would! (And with the famous words of Frederick Forrest in Falling Down: "Think about it!")

So much for the premise...

What have we got left then? Let's see. We are stuck with a flick in which truly horrible acting is a virtue leaving no exceptions. Besides the premise we get served a storyline which has been done better in any average episode of Scooby Doo and we get to see an ending which has been done better in any lesser episode of Scooby Doo. I'm not kidding nor am I exaggerating!

Didn't this movie have any redeeming qualities at all? yes it did, it ended at some point.

If it wasn't for the plot, one would think he was watching a children's-picture. It all fits: the deranged bad guy, the crooked detective and his nutty aid and the female reporter! Even the cardboard acting would in that case work as children wouldn't mind overplayed stereotypes. They love it!

To list all the implausibility's in this movie would require me to see it again and take notes scene by scene. As u no doubt have guessed, I'm not going to.

If it wasn't so painful to watch, it might have been good for a laugh or two.

0/10

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.

...but it ends with a uneasy feeling.

The characters aren't sympathetic and everyone seems to have a kind of neural disorder. But hey, what would you expect from a dark thriller like this. Especially dark because of the lighting and colors used during daylight.

The scenario attracted me to this film, and the first half definitely was worth the time. Somehow the dialogs are too long and too "deep" to keep the thriller feeling alive. A few small twists at the end, and you've got a perfect mix between memento, twisted and the fugitive.

As the movie started, I was alerted by lines that made clear it was an Irish movie, and a lot of quite unknown actors passed by (notice the one with the double under chin...) It wasn't bad, but just don't have too much expectations!

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.

Very interesting movie. I just saw it today at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. It was a very odd movie. Being that there are not that many characters in the movie you can pretty much figure out who the killer is. It is a good ending... but the screaming was a bit too much.

Rocky2576

Irish-shot FREEZE FRAME stars the goofy, jug-eared guy from FIFTH ELEMENT and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY as a paranoid murder suspect who constantly videotapes himself to prove his whereabouts. A TB-stricken detective has in it for him after the guy gets off on a triple-murder charge. Someone else appears to be shadowing the poor guy and possibly breaking into his home to steal some of his tapes. And a strikingly beautiful woman is after him for other reasons. The ending comes as a shocker of sorts, although it all feels a bit contrived. The film is shot mostly in muted colors or no colors at all, and the suspect wanders about with his head end eyebrows shaved and a videocamera attached to his torso. While this Kafka-esquire film is listed as running 99 minutes, after while it begins to seem more like 199 minutes. Not much honestly happens until the end. A truly erotic "rape" scene near the end perks things up a bit. For indie film fans only.

Very interesting movie. I just saw it today at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. It was a very odd movie. Being that there are not that many characters in the movie you can pretty much figure out who the killer is. It is a good ending... but the screaming was a bit to much.

Rocky2576

Firstly, I have to say Lee Evans is without doubt stunning in this film. We can only hope that he gets further meaty roles on the back of this performance.

A triple murder suspect has his case thrown out of court due to police incompetence. Vowing his innocence, he becomes a paranoid who tapes himself "24/7/52" and keeps the tapes in a special vault. Just before the 10th anniversary of the murders, he is again arrested on suspicion of murder, and when he tries to produce the relevant tapes they are missing.

The only downside to this superbly edited, visually stunning film is the lack of suspects as there are only half a dozen characters throughout. Other than that, it's well worth watching. Unlike most people here, I even enjoyed the ending (especially Evans last words!)

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.

I was initially drawn to this title purely to see Lee Evans in a serious role, (for those not that familiar with him, he is well known in the UK, for his hyperactive/sweaty comedy acts)and what i got was certainly not what i expected.

The story of the film revolves around Evans character, initially tried for a triple murder, the prosecution cannot convict him due to a technicality, he is subsequently released, however due to the trial and tribulations during his ordeal, he is convinced unknown forces are persecuting him, this leads him to withdraw into an extremely paranoid cycle of self analysis and suspicion. To stop a replay of being accused, he monitors himself 24 hours a day 7 days a week on digital video, keeping a vast archive of tapes monitoring his every move, however when there is a new murder connecting himself and the victim the tapes in his archive that can exonerate him have mysteriously vanished.

Evans' acting in a serious Psycho Thriller was good, very good. He gave depth to an extremely traumatised character, whereas a less physical actor would not have been able to portray what mental and physical trauma his character had gone through Evans executes the necessary actions with ease. However whilst Evans role is a sight to behold, the film itself is quite visually distinctive and asks questions rather than just relaying a story.

The post reality TV dystopia that programmes such as Big Brother and Pop Idol has littered our screens with is responsible for demonization and propaganda character assassination of the unfortunate individuals that appear on them. A well constructed edit or a sympathetic strategically placed piece of music has turned for or against the people that inhabit these programmes, without trying to paint a unbiased view of them, this is something that is continuously echoed throughout freeze frame. The crux of the story centres on the missing tapes, which can exonerate him, these are just a few hours long in context to the amount of footage he has on himself, with this important information missing it basically 'edits' an alternative story to what could be a completely different set of events.

The film does however have certain flaws to it, the actual plot and subsequent outcome of the film do stretch the imagination and at times whilst the film is visually stunning, it can overwhelm at the same time, the other actors merely operate as plot devices adding little to the whole of the film, this is Evans film and his alone, i wait in anticipation for his next serious role.

I went to the world premiere of Freeze Frame last night at the Tribeca Film Festival. Not knowing much about the film I didn't expect much. I was pleasantly surprised by how stylized and visually compelling the film was. The camera work and editing was great, the audience truly got a sense of the paranoia the main character was feeling. The producer Michael Casey and the director John Simpson both spoke about how much effort went into the film editing, mentioning that they had been up to 53 hours of overall footage at one point. What did disappoint me however was the overplayed drama and weak, cliche ending that let down whatever suspense the movie had managed to build. The idea of a man video-taping his life 24 hours a day to prove his innocence was a great idea but in the end the screenplay let itself down. As for first timers Casey and Simpson it was a great effort and I am looking forward to their future projects.