Netflix Pick of the Week: Columbus Circle

A young woman named Abigail Clayton (Selma Blair) has been a loner for over a decade and has never left her apartment in Columbus Circle. She never ventures outside her door and into the Manhattan city due to her medical condition of Agoraphobia. She regularly slips notes under her apartment door to the concierge Klandermann (Kevin Pollak). The concierge carries out all of her errands so she can remain confined. Abigail doesn’t like change–but when her elderly next door neighbor falls down the stairs to her death–then change is inevitable. The police arrive on the scene and detective Frank Giardello (Giovanni Ribisi) automatically expects foul play. The detective makes Abigail uncomfortable as he enters her apartment with tons of questions about the incident. Once she finds out her neighbor has passed away–she writes the owner of the apartment to rent it. Her many attempts of obtaining the apartment is to stop new renters from moving in and prevent anything from changing. She is ignored and soon a new couple named Charles (Jason Lee) and Lillian (Amy Smart) move in next door. The couple have violent arguments and Lillian is beaten outside Abigail’s apartment door one night. As Abigail watches through the peep hole and the events before her–she becomes forced to face the demons of her past.

Abigail is a child of abuse and starts to feel sorry for the abused Lillian. For the first time, she invites another person into her apartment in order to keep Lillian safe. Abigail slowly becomes engulfed by the outside world and before long is in over her head. She realizes she doesn’t know who to trust anymore when all the dark secrets begin to fall around her. The film is a suspense thriller that will keep you on your toes to the very end.

Columbus Circle‘s story is engaging with a remarkable cast and premise with the twists of the movie carried out in the form of flashbacks. Columbus Circle does an amazing job of jumping straight into the story and giving you an amazing adventure in its 80-minute run time. You realize early on that Abigail has her own secrets which are slowly unveiled as the story progresses. The movie does an excellent job of intriguing the viewer to the point that they want to know the mystery of Abigail and why she chose to disappear. Parts of the story almost tangle as you realize that maybe her lifetime friend/doctor (Beau Bridges) isn’t as genuine as he appears. With everyone harboring dark secrets–you can only stay on the edge of your seat until the movie ends–to find out if you what you thought was indeed right or wrong.

Columbus Circle is now available on Netflix and is one movie not to miss. If you have a hankering for a good action thriller this weekend then add it to your queue! You won’t be disappointed.

Overall: See it