by David Fincher, 2002.
Starring: Patrick Bachau, Jodie Foster, Jared Leto, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam.
Rating: 9/10, 6.5/10.
I know I’m the only one in the entire world, but I really liked What Lies Beneath, the 2000 Harrisson Ford/Michelle Pfeiffer psychological horror film. Why do I mention this in my review of Panic Room? Well, because I liked Panic Room for much the same reason.
What Lies Beneath was smart, old-fashioned, and took its time. It wasn’t one of those movies I mentioned in my review of Rear Window, the ones where the horror comes from people popping out from corners and going Boo. Instead it came from building up our emotional attachment and knowledge of the characters, then putting them in danger (both physical and emotional) and twisting what we knew about them. It was stylish, too: well directed, well acted, well written, well scored.
Panic Room is more fast-paced and less old-fashioned than What Lies Beneath, but it is still every bit as smart and stylish. It revolves around Meg Altman (Foster), a recently divorced woman trying to love and raise her diabetic young daughter Sarah (Stewart, who looks exactly like Jodie Foster’s daughter should, and is, according to the internet movie database, only twelve years old which I don’t believe). Meg and Sarah have just moved into a remarkable brownstone in New York City. This brownstone features what is called a panic room, basically a room rich people build for themselves so they can be completely safe in case of a break-in. The panic room is completely impenetrable, and has its own well-stocked supplies. So the two of them are just getting used to the house when Burnham (Whitaker, who really should do more stuff cos he’s awesome) and two others (Leto and Yoakam) break in. Apparently, the man who lived in the brownstone before left millions of dollars in the house. Burnham and his posse (except for one) don’t want any trouble—they just want to get in and out of the house with the money, and hadn’t realized that the Altmans had moved in already until it was too late. Needless to say, Meg and Sarah lock themselves into the panic room, and most of the rest of the movie consists of a stalemate: Meg and Sarah will not, of course, leave the room, and the money, sadly enough, is in that very room.
The film sets up its rules very quickly and sticks to them right to the end. We know early on exactly how the panic room works. We know exactly what Meg knows about it, and that Burnham, whose job has actually been designing these very rooms, knows more. We know what equipment the posse has. We know that Sarah is locked in with no sugary food and no insulin. We know all sorts of things, which makes the way it all works out all the more suspenseful and exciting. And what we don’t know at first, and what is slowly revealed to us, are the motivations of the three "villains"—though calling Burnham a villain is something like calling Annie Hall a light-hearted romp: it's not entirely inaccurate, but there’s so much more to it.
The film was directed by David Fincher, who also directed Seven and The Game, neither of which I saw, and Fight Club, which I did see and had major problems with. But what I thought was incredible about Fight Club—the astounding, innovative direction—is also present here. Sometimes it’s a little showoffy, but when the camera sweeps through the whole house, through doors that are open just a crack, going up and down through floors and actually swoops through the handle of a coffee pot and then halfway into a keyhole long enough for a key to be turned, whereupon it backs right up again, I can’t help but be amazed. As I said, stylish. (By the way, since I mentioned Fight Club and David Fincher, what exactly is his beef with Jared Leto’s pretty face?) As for the acting, it’s brilliant considering the material (Jodie Foster gets mad props...she’s so cool), and the writing...well, it’s serviceable, and aside from a few clunky moments it’s quite nice. My only problem with the film, as with far too many recently, is the very last scene. I didn’t care at all about what the writers decided to resolve, and honestly, I think we could have figured it out on our own, while what I cared about most still frustrates me because it was left hanging.
Still, I really hope we get more action thrillers like this and What Lies Beneath in the future. If these films are any sign of the future of filmmaking, then maybe it won’t be as bad as I think it’s going to be.
No. These films won’t matter in the long run; it’s gonna be bad.