Paranoia (2013)

Summary: Adam Cassidy, an employee of tech giant Nicholas Wyatt, is sacked but then re-employed in order for him to become a spy working for the opposition, headed by Jock Goddard. He is disconcerted to find that a young woman with whom he had a one night stand is the marketing director for Goddard, but nevertheless, resuming their relationship enables him to access the secret files held by the company. Back home he is waylaid by the FBI who show him that previous spies controlled by Wyatt have been killed, but is forced to carry on due to threats to his sick father. Fortunately Adam and his friends have a secret invention which may save him from termination.

Content: No nudity though quite a bit of implied sex. A lot of drinking at various points. In the Wyatt organisation there is a lot of threatening behaviour. When Adam goes to work for Goddard he is housed in a luxury apartment. Before that he is prepared for the job by a psychologist, living for a while in Wyatt’s luxury pad. Once he is installed there is a lot of sneaking about in the dark, and some marginally obscure technical stuff. Back home Adam gets on with his sick father, but has medical bills to pay.

A View: About ten years ago there seem to have been a lot of tech films, sort of warning us about what we can expect to happen in the future when we are tracked and overheard without our knowledge. Some of this has come to pass, but unfortunately it did not make the film more interesting. Just putting  glamourous people in luxury environments is not a recipe for success, no matter what the film makers seem to think. This outing was savaged by the critics and bombed at the box office. It is not a watch, even while doing something else.

I admit to being attracted to this film by the presence of Amber Heard, who has now become famous for reasons other than her theatrical performances. She has also appeared in two other films reviewed on this site: 3 days to Kill and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane.  

I admit to being attracted to this film by the presence of Amber Heard, who has now become famous for reasons other than her theatrical performances. She has also appeared in two other films reviewed on this site: 3 days to Kill and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane.