Synopsis
Vicky Jewson’s 2019 British action thriller, Close, is inspired by the life of one of the world’s leading female bodyguards, Jacquie Davis. Like other bodyguard-centered films, Close depicts an emotionally charged and fast-paced story around a woman leading a traditionally male-centered occupation. Close explores the all-encompassing struggle to survive, to trust, and to empower, while offering an unrelenting depiction of what it means to protect, and equally, to be protected.
Close features a protagonist, Sam Carlson, a bodyguard played by Noomi Rapace, who gained international fame from starring in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish trilogy) as Lisbeth Salander. Sam is a former military officer turned close protection officer trained to operate in hostile environments. She is shrewd, resourceful, and emotionally unavailable — traits that predispose her to form distant relationships. Such characteristics are ideal for high-risk protection assignments, though they make emotional intimacy difficult.
After the sudden passing of her father, a wealthy and influential mining tycoon, Zoe Tanner (portrayed by Sophie Nélisse), steps into the world as a rebellious heiress. Following the death of Zoe’s father, she is set to inherit a staggering fortune as well as manage a powerful mining company, much to the discomfort of her stepmother Rima (Indira Varma), who sees Zoe’s newfound power and influence as troubling. This begins a dynamic, filled with tension, early on in the film.
Zoe’s attitude towards Sam changes when an armed attempt on her chef’s life springs into action while staying at a fortified villa in Morocco. She is used to dismissing authority, and that is exactly how she treats Sam. Resentment is the only thing that meets Zoe when Sam walks into frame, but that isn’t for long. While in Morocco, Zoe finds herself the target of a violent abduction attempt. Sam’s instincts kick in and she manages to get Zoe to safety, but they are left stranded and cut off from their security team.
As they escape throughout Morocco and try to make sense of who is after Zoe – and why – their dynamic shifts from one of hostility to reluctant teamwork. Sam, who emotionally shuts down, finds herself becoming a guardian of sorts, leading Zoe beyond the physical realm of her captivity with fear and confusion into more emotional territory.
Gradually, it becomes evident that the violence attempted on her life is not a random act but rather calculated violence associated with the ruthless world of corporate espionage and greed. The world of international mining conglomerates involving politics and betrayal comes up to the fore. Rima, who is revealed to have her own conspiratorial designs to pursue, shifts to become one of the significant protagonists in the tail end of the conspiracy. The truth, which exposes Sam and Zoe’s own might become the brutal reality of what’s left to fight for beneath the layers of truth. The conspiracy holds up, but has their trust on each other ready to put into survival.
Close is different from many modern action themed movies that offer over stylized sequences shot to the brim with repetitive flashing cuts or oversized-on-screen explosions. Instead, it keeps the focus in a grounded realm. The film has its action sequences visceral, intense, and realistic, featuring hand-to-hand combat, tactical maneuvers, or close-quarter battles. This exposes the harsh physical and emotional burden of being the ‘Protector’, especially navigating a world like this as a woman enhances the severity of the problem as people do not expect her to do any of this.
Cast & Crew
The film features not only the skilled Noomi Rapace as Sam Carlson, but also carries her performance which is a mixture of primal strength, tempered with stillness. Close displays Rapace’s willingness to take on physically challenging roles. She does most of the stunts and her adaptation to the character is convincing, portraying a woman scarred by life but still able to show kindness.
Sophie Nélisse of The Book Thief fame also takes the role of Zoe Tanner and does not disappoint. Her transformation from an understanding naive and spoiled heiress to a survivor fighter helps her accept the cruel realities of power and inheritance.
Indira Varma of Game of Thrones and Rome fame for many plays the stepmother Rima, whose intentions are unclear at first. Her character thickens the story as more and more of her motives come to light.
Eoin Macken is featured in a supporting role as an internal security operative and helps strengthen the story’s tension with his shifting loyalty and concealed motives.
With an eye for detail, Vicky Jewson steps into the director’s role for the first time with a أكتوبر 2023 stunning feature film set in Morocco, marking a pioneering venture into the action-thriller category. Jewson, together with Rupert Whitaker, penned the screenplay, shunning typical tropes framed around the action-thriller genre in favor of authentic character-driven tension. The Moroccan landscapes are visually stunning and the urban pursuit shackled within walls is tightly framed which enhance the atmosphere of the film, courtesy of Malte Rosenfeld’s cinematography.
IMDb ratings
Close currently sits at an IMDb rating of 5.7/10 as of 2025. A rating this low does indicate mixed reception, but there are nuanced explanations which lay underneath this average perception. The film has received praise for its lead actress, the pragmatic action sequences, and placing a woman at the forefront of a male dominated genre. Sam Carlson played by Rapace has been receiving accolades for her physically expressive yet restrained angry portrayal, with every critic claiming she brought a lot of realism and rawness to the character.
Some viewers argued that plot lacked in depth The subplot involving corporate intrigue also received criticism for bland and predictable plot lines. Some other viewers felt like there were some gaps in pacing, with breaks between moments of high tension which undermined the urgency of the movie.
However, despite some of the shortcomings, some reviewers praise the film for depicting a believable female action character who does not use sexualization, or hyper stylization. Sam is tough, flawed, and human – a rare quality in modern action thrillers. The progression of the relationship between Sam and Zoe from animosity to trust is yet another layer that captured the audience’s attention.
Conclusion
Close is a realistic, suspenseful, and tight action thriller with great performances, particularly by Noomi Rapace, that center on female strength and survival. Unlike other films in world of action thrillers, Close does not seem to attempt re-invent the wheel. Instead, it offers a refreshing take on the bodyguard narrative where a woman operates at the heart of a high-powered and male-dominated environment.
As much as the film thrives in its action scenes, the quieter moments of the film are equally interesting. They allow for the development of emotions without sacrificing the film’s pace. Trust, isolation, and resilience, especially as they pertain to the relationship that develops between protector and protectee, are some of the concepts explored. Sam Carlson is not an indestructible superhero; she is a woman forged from experience, loss, and a sense of duty. That makes her compelling and gives the film emotional weight.
For those interested in an action film that is character-driven, suspenseful, and has strong female leads without any unnecessary theatrics, Close is an excellent option. It is a narrative about survival which involves not only physical survival but also the endurance of a maturing psyche that is perpetually challenged in terms of its strength, morals, and emotions.
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