The Plot
Interracial newlyweds Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) move from the Bay Area to Los Angeles -- just in time for the fire season -- and settle into a lovely three-bedroom house at the end of a San Fernando Valley cul-de-sac. In a case of Hollywood irony, their next-door neighbor, widower Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson), happens to be a black policeman who, for personal reasons, has a thing against interracial relationships -- even going so far as to forbid his son from wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey.
Abel immediately eyes the couple suspiciously and, though outwardly friendly, commences hazing them with the sort of annoyances that usually land neighbors on The People's Court. Chris, as the white interloper, catches the brunt of a string of jibes that make it clear that Abel doesn't approve of his life choices -- granted, he makes an easy target for criticism by carelessly flicking cigarette butts on Abel's property and frolicking naked in his pool in view of Abel's two young children.
When the couple's attempts at peacemaking go nowhere, they begin to suspect that Abel is tampering with their property. Complaints to the police hit a dead end for obvious reasons, so things turn into a tit-for-tat game of one-upmanship. Although the tension takes a toll on their marriage, the newlyweds refuse to move out. Once it becomes clear where each side stands, the animosity and acts of aggression build from bright lights to loud noises to vandalism and finally, deadly violence. But to whom do you turn when your tormentor is a cop?
The End Product
Lakeview Terrace is a satisfying return to form for both LaBute and Jackson, who's had his own sketchy road of late (Snakes on a Plane, The Man, xXx: State of the Union). It mines the director's talent for exploring the ugly side of social mores, but dulls the edge by placing it within the framework of a popcorn thriller. It's unusually observant and socially conscious for a film of this ilk -- part Crash and part Fatal Attraction.
Abel could be a cartoonish, one-note character -- be it a raving racist or an over-the-edge psychopath -- but he's played as a more tragic figure, a hard-working, well-intentioned man pushed over the edge by circumstances beyond his reach. Although the extremity of his prejudice doesn't feel quite true to life, Abel and his interaction with Chris represent a provocative reversal of racial expectations: a black Republican authority figure looking down upon the Berkeley-educted, Prius-driving, young white male who blasts hip-hop music in his car. (LaBute slyly includes a poster of the race-switch movie Watermelon Man in the couple's belongings as they move in.) There's actually an element of schadenfreudian humor to seeing the mild-mannered Chris repeatedly stick his foot in his mouth and put himself into situations you can foresee won't fly with the domineering policeman.
The role is perfectly suited to Jackson's penchant for righteously indignant diatribes -- as if Jules from Pulp Fiction had gone down a different path. Wilson and Washington, meanwhile, deliver strong performances in what is essentially a three-person, character-driven story confined to two neighboring houses.
The movie manages to delve into the thorny issue of race without becoming either heavy-handed or dismissive. It strikes a delicate balance, but by the end, Lakeview Terrace is more about the Hitchcockian suspense than the hot-button topics. It's not perfect, of course -- the events and emotions are exaggerated for moviemaking effect -- but it's a sharp character study that provides not only thrills but cause for conversation.
The Skinny
- Acting: B+ (Strong work all around, particularly Jackson as the despicable yet sympathetic villain.)
- Direction: B- (Not as uncompromising as LaBute's early work, but it might have to be this way for such a mainstream, PG-13 film.)
- Script: B (Tempers potentially heavy, racially sensitive material with lighter thriller elements and even a bit of humor.)
- Gore/Effects: C (Little needed.)
- Overall: B (An engaging, astute balance between weight and popcorn thrills.)
Lakeview Terrace is directed by Neil LaBute and is rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, violence, sexuality, language and some drug references. Opening date: September 19, 2008.
