Plot

Formerly abused wealthy heiress Abigail Clayton (Selma Blair) has been living in her loft, refusing to leave her apartment. The concierge Klandermann (Kevin Pollak) runs all her errands, making her agoraphobic existence possible. Her only visitor is the family friend Raymond (Beau Bridges), the only person she trusts.

Her peaceful and structured existence is disrupted when her elderly next-door neighbor is killed and the young couple, Lillian (Amy Smart) & Charles (Jason Lee) move in. Things get complicated for Abigail when she witnesses Charles being violent, which bring back her own memories. She helps out by letting her in, but unfortunately Lillian is not the innocent abuse victim she is pretending to be. And Lilian may actually be the only person Charles is not ready to hurt…

It seems that all the characters have a secret, apart from the cop (Giovanni Ribisi) determined to solve the case. Can he solve it in time before things get out of hand for everyone?

*

Fun Level: Mediocre

Columbus Circle is -on paper- a good idea. A good cast, a good premise. Unfortunately it has severe editing and directing problems which stalls a lot, as well as making its twists way too obvious. The first important “twist” is already given in the trailer, and what you don’t know, you guess at the spot.

Despite the expected turns, it could be fun, except it is astounding how stupid the villains can be. You’d think someone attempting a con of millions of dollars would use their brains better. And of course there is the ending – which could have been a lot better if it was a little more difficult for a certain character, and a little less ridiculous for our villains.

Better with Multi-Tasking

It is all in the name of good fun, and it is certainly not the most boring film out there. But if you want to get the best value for your time, you might want to multi-task and not give the movie your full attention. You don’t need to.

Written by Kevin Pollak and George Gallo. Directed by George Gallo.