| PANIC ROOM (2002) |
| CAST: Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakum, Kristen Stewart DIRECTOR: David Fincher SCREENPLAY: David Koepp Running Time: 112 Mins. Rated R |
| David Fincher (Seven), who is one of the visually unique and interesting directors in Hollywood today, treats us with another atmospheric and disturbing thriller with "Panic Room." It may come off as simple from first glances, but Fincher and writer David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) pull off a first-class job with their work and pull you right into the films creepy surroundings. The film keeps heavy tension sustained in its one-setting and works off the smarts of the leading characters. Kicking things off with a knockout credits sequence where the cast and crew names are listed in the form of skyscrapers, we are soon introduced to Meg (Jodie Foster), a woman just getting out of a divorce and searching out some available spaces in Manhattan, with her daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) tagging along. Meg immediately becomes enraptured when they discover an enormous house, complete with a hidden room known as the "Panic Room." It's a room in the house, complete with an extra phone line, surveillance screens, and a ventilation system. Meg decides to move in with Sarah and is happy with her new surroundings, although the "Panic Room" seems useless. That is, until the first night in the house, when Meg discovers a group of thieves (Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam) creeping around the place in the middle of the night. Meg immediately gets Sarah and they both find themselves stuck in the "Panic Room." What soon follows is a long cat-and-mouse game as Meg and Sarah try to find out what the burglars want from them and how to keep them out of their place. Right off the bat, Fincher pulls off a dynamite feat with this film. The first 15 minutes are quietly intense, with some neat moments where the camera zooms around the house. When the burglars arrive, the terror doesn't ever really stop from there. Despite a few implausibilities, Koepp's screenplay is awfully smart and gritty for the most part. Even if you think you may be able to predict the situations that happen, there's a few sharp curves that Koepp throws at us, and watching the various mindgames between all the characters is one of the things that make this film a great sit. Some of the banter between Whitaker, Leto and Yoakam are especially witty early on in the film, where Whitaker makes some funny cracks at Yoakam, wearing a black mask on his head. Foster is perfect Meg, depicting her as a slightly flawed, yet tough and vulnerable heroine who works some genuine chemistry between co-star Stewart, giving an equally effective performance. Whitaker is simply a delight, giving a multi-layered performance as a smart thug with a good heart. Leto is becoming something of a chameleon in cinema these days (partly so that people can forget his involvement in "Urban Legend") as he hams it up, acting as sleazy as possible in his villainous role. Yoakam does an especially good job here by getting under your skin with his quietly menacing performance. The crowd was hissing at both him and Leto throughout the film, which shows that they did their jobs perfectly. Also, I noticed a cameo by "Seven" screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker as a neighbor of Meg and Sarah's. You can't notice Fincher likes to have this guy in either cameos or even refer to him in his recent films (like in Fight Club, where three characters are named Andrew, Kevin and Walker). There are a few bits late in the film that stretch the limits of believability, yet if you can suspend disbelief in a few spots, I don't think you could ask for a better thriller. Fincher craves style and his Hitchcockian-style atmosphere should keep you entangled, as well as the strong performances and Koepp's writing. Watching this film, I couldn't help but think back to the sleeper "If I Die Before I Wake", which dealt with a teenage girl using her smarts to rescue her family from three psychopaths. Both movies share some close similarities and if you enjoyed "Panic Room," try and seek this film out. Rating: **** out of ***** Review by Adam Eshack - (c) 4/23/02 |
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