Mike LoManaco
07-01-2009, 07:06 AM
http://www.fastlanevideo.com/title_images/lakeviewterracebd.jpg
Professional Review by M. LoManaco on 06/30/09; Region 1 (U.S.) Release Tested
Studio Name: Sony/Screen Gems
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Disc/Transfer Information: 1080p High Definition, 2.40:1
Tested Audio Track: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Director: Neil LaBute
Starring Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington
WHAT COULD BE SAFER THAN LIVING NEXT TO A COP?
LoMANACO'S PLOT ANALYSIS:
I recently acquired Lakeview Terrace as a previously viewed Blu-ray and have added it to my collection, therefore propelling it into justifiable review territory from personal use and experience; however, the viewing of the Blu-ray was not my first experience with the tightly wound and kinetic thriller. I had seen this theatrically when it came out and found it to be one of those quick-to-the-senses but somewhat memorable pictures, much like Poseidon was. In other words, we're not talking award-winning film making here folks, but there was indeed some entertainment value to be had on some level.
Many have labeled -- quite accurately in some contexts -- the Will Smith co-produced Lakeview Terrace as a kind of Unlawful Entry "remake" or "re-imagining," taking the plot and pacing in a parallel subtext directly from that Kurt Russell/Ray Liotta drama actioneer. Much like that film, the story revolves its energy around a cop gone mad -- in both cases an LAPD cop -- and asks us to imagine what life would be like if a sick individual with that kind of power entered our lives because we would simply have no recourse...I mean, who do you call when you would normally call the police when you have a psycho cop on your ass? In that respect, both films passed the test of this paradigm with aggressively satisfying results. While at times dipping into borrowed themes from Training Day -- yet another look at a twisted, corrupt Los Angeles drug enforcement officer -- Lakeview Terrace holds its own when measured against, say, Unlawful Entry. While Liotta's acting charisma and energy carried that film, we have Samuel L. Jackson (always a great character actor when called into duty) to thank for the taut, nail-biting, character-hating performance which he treats us to in Terrace.
To be honest, I don't know what Terrace would have been without Jackson's input; it's his racist cop which pins the film with tension and emotion, grinding us to the point that we want to jump into our screens a la Videodrome and strangle the bastard. You know, Jackson just plays a multitude of characters so high and low, good and bad, that it's difficult to say which he plays best -- he is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated performers of our time, and from Star Wars to Die Hard with a Vengeance and from Against the Wall to The Negotiator, Jules just rules.
He doesn't do the bad guy thing very often though -- the last time I saw him "villain" it up effectively was in the HBO Films telling of the Attica prison riot in New York in Against the Wall in which he played a violent black revolutionary -- but here he was just chillingly convincing. So convincing, to a degree, that you become edgy and very uncomfortable with the character in a short amount of time. Where Ray Liotta had "issues with women" that weren't totally explained in Unlawful Entry, Jackson's LAPD character in Terrace is explained in a backstory involving his wife who was killed in a car crash and in which he blames her being in the car with a white man during the accident for the entire downward spiral of his. With opening shots of a hillside Southern California town, Terrace introduces us to a bi-racial newlywed couple just moving into a house on a coul-de-sac in this town, played by Patrick Wilson (Passengers) and Kerry Washington. Wilson is up to his neck in "racial stress" in that Washington's father doesn't really approve of his daughter marrying a white guy, and now he's introduced to one of the most disturbing, psychotic and racially charged police officers the LAPD has seen since the Rodney King incident, "Abel," played by Jackson. From the minute Washington and Wilson get their boxes into their new house and Jackson spots this bi-racial couple frolicking next to their new pool from his window, there's trouble.
Jackson plays the race-hating Abel so well, it's almost embarrassing to recoil and realize he's one of the nicest guys in Hollywood; the first night in their new house brings Washington and Wilson face to face with Jackson's blinding security lights of his home -- which is right next door -- and it's clear the "battle" is on. Jackson's cop character is standoffish with Wilson, ignoring, to a degree, any attempts to be friendly and neighborly; in fact, Jackson's first attempt at communication with Wilson is through a fake parking ticket placed on Wilson's Toyota Prius warning him about parking correctly on the street.
What eventually sets Jackson's character off is a sequence in which he catches his kids peering through their window as they watch Washington and Wilson make love in their pool next door -- the character at this point essentially cracks, and little threatening comments are made to Wilson on a constant basis...comments about not belonging in this neighborhood, comments about his wife being black...unsettling comments in general. When Wilson and Washington throw a housewarming party for their new neighbors at their pool, Jackson shows up and his character's true colors are displayed when he gets into a dispute with another couple there regarding police work and their safety. It's obvious this guy is angry and not really playing with a full deck -- but we're not really tipped off to why or what's behind this rage...is he just a basic racist? What is it about mixed couples he hates so?
The questions and mystery behind Jackson's Abel character are exposed and answered when Jackson confronts Wilson in a local bar after a "cutting down of hedges with a chainsaw" match between the men takes place in their backyards; Jackson, over a few shots of liquor, tells Wilson the story about how his wife was killed in a head-on car crash and was in the car with a white man when they found her...this has somehow sent his character into a mental breakdown of sorts, racially driving each and every one of his actions now. He doesn't understand why white guys always say "whatever..." and get away with "doing whatever they damn well please" and such, and his anger is now pointed at Wilson and his wife. As Jackson says it in the film at some point during that bar scene, Wilson simply picked the wrong block to move onto at the wrong time...because of Jackson's feelings now.
Feelings and antics between the two men continue to escalate throughout the film, and at one point, after he is reprimanded for using excessive force by internal affairs, Jackson hosts a bachelor party for a fellow cop. With three gorgeous strippers grinding around in black pleated mini skirt cop uniforms and music blasting, Wilson and Washington can't sleep -- in a not-so-wise move, Wilson storms over to Abel's house and demands they turn the music down. Jackson's Abel, in always plotting ways to set Wilson up for something, promises to stop the music after the strippers have their way with the groom to be. But in doing so, Jackson gets Wilson involved in a steamy dance by one of the strippers, which leads to these cops at the party kicking his ass and throwing him out of the house. What's worse, a DVD recording of Wilson enjoying his "dance" with the stripper at the party is sent to his wife.
In the middle are Abel's kids, who are also victims of the character's unstable rules and tantrums; when they are caught in Wilson's swimming pool without his permission, Jackson's character pretty much comes apart. A subplot also emerges involving a fat wigger from the ghetto Jackson's character patrols, and a plan to have him break into the couple's house while they're at a party next door with him. As the surrounding California neighborhood decays into spreading wildfires and Wilson and Jackson's block is evacuated, a final confrontation between Wilson and Jackson is set up after Wilson discovers the intruder's cell phone in his house...and that Jackson's cell number was the last to be dialed from it.
What's interesting to note about Lakeview Terrace is that all the way through to the end -- even with Wilson's character's pleads to make nice and be friendly -- Jackson's angry, racist cop stands firm and never changes who he is. There's no sudden realizing of behavior gone wrong; there's no turning over a new leaf for this cop. To the very end, he was willing to sacrifice his own life in order to "prove a point" to this white neighbor of his, and Wilson's character was willing to defend his position that him and his wife have a right to live there...even if it meant his own life or the life of Abel.
LAKEVIEW TERRACE REVIEW CONTINUED BELOW...
Professional Review by M. LoManaco on 06/30/09; Region 1 (U.S.) Release Tested
Studio Name: Sony/Screen Gems
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Disc/Transfer Information: 1080p High Definition, 2.40:1
Tested Audio Track: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Director: Neil LaBute
Starring Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington
WHAT COULD BE SAFER THAN LIVING NEXT TO A COP?
LoMANACO'S PLOT ANALYSIS:
I recently acquired Lakeview Terrace as a previously viewed Blu-ray and have added it to my collection, therefore propelling it into justifiable review territory from personal use and experience; however, the viewing of the Blu-ray was not my first experience with the tightly wound and kinetic thriller. I had seen this theatrically when it came out and found it to be one of those quick-to-the-senses but somewhat memorable pictures, much like Poseidon was. In other words, we're not talking award-winning film making here folks, but there was indeed some entertainment value to be had on some level.
Many have labeled -- quite accurately in some contexts -- the Will Smith co-produced Lakeview Terrace as a kind of Unlawful Entry "remake" or "re-imagining," taking the plot and pacing in a parallel subtext directly from that Kurt Russell/Ray Liotta drama actioneer. Much like that film, the story revolves its energy around a cop gone mad -- in both cases an LAPD cop -- and asks us to imagine what life would be like if a sick individual with that kind of power entered our lives because we would simply have no recourse...I mean, who do you call when you would normally call the police when you have a psycho cop on your ass? In that respect, both films passed the test of this paradigm with aggressively satisfying results. While at times dipping into borrowed themes from Training Day -- yet another look at a twisted, corrupt Los Angeles drug enforcement officer -- Lakeview Terrace holds its own when measured against, say, Unlawful Entry. While Liotta's acting charisma and energy carried that film, we have Samuel L. Jackson (always a great character actor when called into duty) to thank for the taut, nail-biting, character-hating performance which he treats us to in Terrace.
To be honest, I don't know what Terrace would have been without Jackson's input; it's his racist cop which pins the film with tension and emotion, grinding us to the point that we want to jump into our screens a la Videodrome and strangle the bastard. You know, Jackson just plays a multitude of characters so high and low, good and bad, that it's difficult to say which he plays best -- he is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated performers of our time, and from Star Wars to Die Hard with a Vengeance and from Against the Wall to The Negotiator, Jules just rules.
He doesn't do the bad guy thing very often though -- the last time I saw him "villain" it up effectively was in the HBO Films telling of the Attica prison riot in New York in Against the Wall in which he played a violent black revolutionary -- but here he was just chillingly convincing. So convincing, to a degree, that you become edgy and very uncomfortable with the character in a short amount of time. Where Ray Liotta had "issues with women" that weren't totally explained in Unlawful Entry, Jackson's LAPD character in Terrace is explained in a backstory involving his wife who was killed in a car crash and in which he blames her being in the car with a white man during the accident for the entire downward spiral of his. With opening shots of a hillside Southern California town, Terrace introduces us to a bi-racial newlywed couple just moving into a house on a coul-de-sac in this town, played by Patrick Wilson (Passengers) and Kerry Washington. Wilson is up to his neck in "racial stress" in that Washington's father doesn't really approve of his daughter marrying a white guy, and now he's introduced to one of the most disturbing, psychotic and racially charged police officers the LAPD has seen since the Rodney King incident, "Abel," played by Jackson. From the minute Washington and Wilson get their boxes into their new house and Jackson spots this bi-racial couple frolicking next to their new pool from his window, there's trouble.
Jackson plays the race-hating Abel so well, it's almost embarrassing to recoil and realize he's one of the nicest guys in Hollywood; the first night in their new house brings Washington and Wilson face to face with Jackson's blinding security lights of his home -- which is right next door -- and it's clear the "battle" is on. Jackson's cop character is standoffish with Wilson, ignoring, to a degree, any attempts to be friendly and neighborly; in fact, Jackson's first attempt at communication with Wilson is through a fake parking ticket placed on Wilson's Toyota Prius warning him about parking correctly on the street.
What eventually sets Jackson's character off is a sequence in which he catches his kids peering through their window as they watch Washington and Wilson make love in their pool next door -- the character at this point essentially cracks, and little threatening comments are made to Wilson on a constant basis...comments about not belonging in this neighborhood, comments about his wife being black...unsettling comments in general. When Wilson and Washington throw a housewarming party for their new neighbors at their pool, Jackson shows up and his character's true colors are displayed when he gets into a dispute with another couple there regarding police work and their safety. It's obvious this guy is angry and not really playing with a full deck -- but we're not really tipped off to why or what's behind this rage...is he just a basic racist? What is it about mixed couples he hates so?
The questions and mystery behind Jackson's Abel character are exposed and answered when Jackson confronts Wilson in a local bar after a "cutting down of hedges with a chainsaw" match between the men takes place in their backyards; Jackson, over a few shots of liquor, tells Wilson the story about how his wife was killed in a head-on car crash and was in the car with a white man when they found her...this has somehow sent his character into a mental breakdown of sorts, racially driving each and every one of his actions now. He doesn't understand why white guys always say "whatever..." and get away with "doing whatever they damn well please" and such, and his anger is now pointed at Wilson and his wife. As Jackson says it in the film at some point during that bar scene, Wilson simply picked the wrong block to move onto at the wrong time...because of Jackson's feelings now.
Feelings and antics between the two men continue to escalate throughout the film, and at one point, after he is reprimanded for using excessive force by internal affairs, Jackson hosts a bachelor party for a fellow cop. With three gorgeous strippers grinding around in black pleated mini skirt cop uniforms and music blasting, Wilson and Washington can't sleep -- in a not-so-wise move, Wilson storms over to Abel's house and demands they turn the music down. Jackson's Abel, in always plotting ways to set Wilson up for something, promises to stop the music after the strippers have their way with the groom to be. But in doing so, Jackson gets Wilson involved in a steamy dance by one of the strippers, which leads to these cops at the party kicking his ass and throwing him out of the house. What's worse, a DVD recording of Wilson enjoying his "dance" with the stripper at the party is sent to his wife.
In the middle are Abel's kids, who are also victims of the character's unstable rules and tantrums; when they are caught in Wilson's swimming pool without his permission, Jackson's character pretty much comes apart. A subplot also emerges involving a fat wigger from the ghetto Jackson's character patrols, and a plan to have him break into the couple's house while they're at a party next door with him. As the surrounding California neighborhood decays into spreading wildfires and Wilson and Jackson's block is evacuated, a final confrontation between Wilson and Jackson is set up after Wilson discovers the intruder's cell phone in his house...and that Jackson's cell number was the last to be dialed from it.
What's interesting to note about Lakeview Terrace is that all the way through to the end -- even with Wilson's character's pleads to make nice and be friendly -- Jackson's angry, racist cop stands firm and never changes who he is. There's no sudden realizing of behavior gone wrong; there's no turning over a new leaf for this cop. To the very end, he was willing to sacrifice his own life in order to "prove a point" to this white neighbor of his, and Wilson's character was willing to defend his position that him and his wife have a right to live there...even if it meant his own life or the life of Abel.
LAKEVIEW TERRACE REVIEW CONTINUED BELOW...