A single mother and her feisty teenage daughter move into an eerie old New York brownstone, complete with a maze of stairs and corridors, poor lighting, four stories of creaky wood floors and a vault-like panic room. Add some rain and black-clad intruders with a mission, and you have the perfect cookie-cutter psychological thriller.
Add Jodie Foster's acting as single mother Meg Altman and David Fincher's modern, stylish directing and suddenly you have a chic and highly entertaining film.
"Panic Room," the latest brainchild of writer/producer David Koepp - writer or co-writer of movies such as "Stir of Echoes," "Jurassic Park" and "Mission: Impossible" - succeeds as a fast-paced and smart thriller. The tension is sprung on audiences from the very beginning, when the central characters are taken to their new home and shown around. Despite obvious bad vibes, they purchase it and move in, and less than 15-minutes later, the film's real action begins.
At the heart of the film is the small room built by the wealthy and paranoid previous occupant - the panic room.
Opening off of the main bedroom, the hidden space is nestled between four concrete walls, has its own phone line and ventilation system, a wall of surveillance monitors that watch the entire house and is protected by a motion-censor activated steel door. The absolute best place to be in the case of a break-in, right?
Not if the intruders know more about it than you do.
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Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam and Jared Leto, playing Burnham, Raoul and Junior, respectively, portray the three villains beautifully. Leto is suitably slimy as Junior, the scatterbrained and excitable leader of the gang, sporting blond cornrows and a nasty case of rich-boy attitude. Whitaker is admirable and likable throughout the film, despite his affiliation with the "bad guys," playing his torn character with ease. His actions become predictable near the end of the film, but since he's the outlaw with a heart of gold, we love him anyway. Yoakam rounds out the trio and, easily is the creepiest and meanest baddie of them all. We don't see his face until the end, but his actions speak for themselves - unlike his buddies, he has no qualms about cold-hearted murder or betrayal. He emerges as the main villain during the gruesome climax of the film, which incidentally involves an enormous sledgehammer.
The only thing the three have in common is their lust for riches - more specifically, the millions locked away in the panic room along with Meg Altman and her daughter Sarah.
Since they can't break into the room, their task is the draw the women out. A game of cat-and-mouse begins, albeit with some modern toys thrown in for fun.
Foster is perfect as the cowering victim turned badass mom protecting her young. Her mad dashes for insulin, to recover her cell phone and various other trips provide some of the best suspense in the film.
Kristen Stewart, in turn, plays spunky teenager Sarah, seemingly the stronger character of the two. Tables turn, however, when her diabetes kicks in and she has to rely on mom to save her life.
Added to the superb acting is the outstanding directing by David Fincher, who has gained respect in the past with successes such as "Seven," "The Game" and, most recently, "Fight Club." He takes us on a wild ride through the house and its walls, ceilings, keyholes and objects using a variety of unique, spiffy camera angles. His flair is reminiscent of "Fight Club," sans the industrial techno and eccentric characters.
The film's only weakness is its ending. Even up until the climax, everything is smooth and the audience's attention riveted. Then, it offers a disappointing denouement and a predictable ending, with unresolved tension and our favorite bad guy, Burnham, caught right as he is about to jump the fence with 20-something million dollars in his jacket. It leaves us craving some sort of unexpected twist, a surprise ending like in "The Game" or "Fight Club."
But despite the final letdown, "Panic Room" is fast-paced and unique enough to be thoroughly enjoyable.
