| PANIC ROOM (2002) |
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| DON'T PANIC, IT'S JUST A MOVIE |
| a movie review by Luc-Rock Paquin |
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Jodie Foster films are getting fewer and farther between. This once-child actress has enough talent, money and integrity to afford being extremely selective in what movies she wants to do. While this could spell disaster for many other actors and actresses – who fear of sinking into oblivion – it mostly works to Foster's advantage, since her movies almost become events. Case in point: Panic Room debuted with $30.2 million, setting a record for an Easter weekend opener.
Panic Room is the story of Meg Altman (Foster), a recently divorced woman, and her daughter Sarah (Stewart), who decide to purchase a house in Manhattan. The house in question, which used to belong to a multimillionaire financier whose death is surrounded by rumours of missing millions, is a magnificent four-story building which features a "panic room", a secure room equipped with its own phone line, ventilation system, camera monitors and plenty of other goodies. Of course, you don't need to be a genius to figure out the plot that will ensue: robbers come to the house looking for the missing money and Meg & Sarah head for the panic room. Herein lies the problem: what the robbers are after is in the panic room.
This is definitely not David Fincher's best movie, but it's not a bad movie either. Panic Room is not as original and complicated as Finch's previous work (Fight Club, Se7en, The Game), but it does achieve one very important goal: it entertains. In fact, I was on the edge of my seat for the better part of the movie. As far as thrillers go, it was pretty effective.
Kristen Stewart and Jodie Foster take refuge in the Panic Room |
Even though there was plenty of suspense in the story, screenwriter David Koepp (Spider-Man, Carlito's Way, Stir of Echoes) came up short in the originality department. I'll admit that the idea of the panic room itself is somewhat novel in movies (in medieval times, there was the castle keep), but that's about as far as it goes. The rest of the story is pretty simple: the bad guys want money, the heroines fight for their lives.
Another weak aspect of the story is the character development. Although there are only 5 characters for 90% of the movie, most of them still appear to be one-dimensional. The only exception is Burnham, the character played by Forest Whitaker. His character is interesting because he is only participating in this crime in order to provide for his child and he does not want to resort to violence.
There is plenty of violence in this movie |
While I'm on the subject of violence, I should point out that there's a lot of it in this movie and some of the scenes are very disturbing. I found myself wincing several times, which had more to do with the fact that the violence was convincing and less to do with its graphic nature. Unfortunately, the violence in this movie is a necessary evil, since the whole point of the panic room is to protect one's self against it.
Being the anal retentive person that I am, there's something in the story that bothered me somewhat: at the beginning of the movie, there are several shots where we see Jodie Foster's character with a bottle of wine. Everywhere she goes, the bottle seems to follow: in the kitchen, in the bedroom and even in the bathroom! I think that the intention was to show that Meg Altman was trying to relax in her new house, but the image was so persistent that I began to wonder if she was an alcoholic, which was somewhat confusing.
Jodie Foster doesn't need to speak to convey emotions |
On a more "technical" note, I was quite impressed with two aspects of the movie: the cinematography and the opening credits. I known it's unusual to compliment the opening credits, but you just need to see them and you'll understand. They were done in such an original way that everyone around me was commenting about it as they first appeared. That's not something you see every day. The same thing could be said about the cinematography, which combined traditional methods with special effects to create some truly unique camera shots.
Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs, Taxi Driver, Contact) delivers a solid performance as Meg Altman. Foster plays the role with a less-is-more approach that works to her advantage. She doesn't need to say anything to convey her emotions, we just feel them.
I was pleasantly surprised by Dwight Yoakam's performance as one of the robbers. Yoakam has proven time and again (Sling Blade, The Minus Man, The Newton Boys) that he is more than a country singer, and this is one of these times. Had I not noticed his name in the credits, I never would have guessed that acting was his second career.
Forest Whitaker is amazing as the compassionate and reluctant criminal |
But by far, the best performance in Panic Room is that of Forest Whitaker (Platoon, Smoke, The Crying Game), who plays the role of the compassionate and reluctant criminal. Whitaker is just one of those actors I just love, because he is able to look vulnerable and sweet despite his bulky physique.
Overall, Panic Room is a very good thriller and although it may not live up to the standards defined in Fincher's previous movies, it still delivers what is was meant to deliver: 101 minutes of entertainment, most of it on the edge of your seat ...and let's not forget that this is a Jodie Foster Event!
Reviewed on April 1, 2002
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Directed by
David Fincher
Written by
David Koepp
Cast
Jodie Foster
Kristen Stewart
Forest Whitaker
Jared Leto
Dwight Yoakam
Patrick Bauchau
Ian Buchanan
Ann Magnuson
Andrew Kevin Walker
Produced by
Ceán Chaffin
John S. Dorsey
Judy Hofflund
David Koepp
Gavin Polone
Music
Howard Shore
Cinematography
Conrad W. Hall
Darius Khondji
Film Editing
Jim Haygood
Angus Wall
Casting
Laray Mayfield
Production Design
Arthur Max
Art Direction
Keith Neely
James E. Tocci
Set Decoration
Jon Danniells
Garrett Lewis
Costume Design
Michael Kaplan
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