The characters and story line of this cleverly scripted thriller are fictional, but it is based on real-life situations: a global surveillance network created by the government a few years back and current concerns over private contractors taking matters into their own hands on foreign soil. The real-life source material for the story line makes this Italian-funded spy saga stand out from the pack, as does the fact that its hero isn’t a Bond or Bourne-style secret agent, but an older functionary (Michael Parks) who develops a conscience. The thrill sequences pile up as Parks’ character decides to protect an Italian woman (Maya Sansa) targeted by a surveillance contractor, but writer/director Giacomo Martelli clearly wants to fashion this as a 21st century equivalent of classic political thrillers à la Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation and The Manchurian Candidate.

Shelf Talk: Parks has been experiencing a renaissance thanks to his fan Quentin Tarantino, who gave him supporting roles in Kill Bill and Grindhouse. The packaging only hints at the political issues that underlie the plot line, but The Listening is an incredibly timely release, as its contractor-run-amok story line parallels recent news stories about the Blackwater company’s activities in Iraq.