Sometimes, the sheer force of personality a performer
has is enough to make us overlook the shortcomings of a film’s
script. Surely, director Neil La Bute knew what he was doing when he cast
Samuel L. Jackson in the lead of his new film, Lakeview Terrace, a thriller
that’s initially engaging but winds up imploding under the weight of
its increasingly ridiculous circumstances, despite a frightening turn from
its star.
Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson and Kerry
Washington) are an interracial couple who move into a suburban Los Angeles
home, next door to Abel Turner (Jackson), a diligent cop who goes out of
his way to make the neighborhood safe with his own nightly patrols. Trouble
is, his so-called concern for the Mattsons soon escalates into harassment
as this widowed dad views their liberal marriage as an affront to his
conservative values and he vows to drive them from their home. His pranks
(lights shining in their bedroom, crashing parties) escalate rapidly and
soon the Mattsons find themselves fighting for their sanity and their lives
with nowhere to turn.
This film plays like a combination of Pacific Heights, with its
neighbor-from-hell played by Michael Keaton, and Unlawful Entry, starring Ray Liotta
as the cop-from-you-know-where. Not only is Terrace no better than these flicks but it’s even more
manipulative. The script by David Loughrey and Howard Korder relies far too
much on circumstance to be logical, while having things culminate on the
hottest day of the year and having a raging forest fire knocking on the
neighborhood’s door is nothing but overkill. And while the cast is a
game one, even their best efforts, or Jackson’s charisma, can’t
save this film from its sordid self.
I know this is a backhanded compliment, but I ended
up not hating The Women nearly as much as I thought I would. That’s not to say I
would recommend it, but this remake of the 1939 classic proved to be far
more engaging than Sex and the City, primarily because of, shock of shocks, Meg Ryan.
It’s no secret that the career of American cinema’s former
sweetheart has been in freefall in recent years and early box office
numbers for The Women suggests it won’t be the parachute she was hoping
for. However, her performance as wronged wife Mary Haines is her best in
years, as the actress convincingly runs the gamut of emotions, going from
blissful to despair and, finally, to rebirth. She wins us over with the
sense of charm that made us love her in the first place.
I wish I could say the same about her co-stars and
this misguided production. The story is far too similar to the original to
have any relevance for modern women, while many of the characters are
broadly drawn and realized in a similar manner. Eva Mendes vamps
shamelessly as the piece’s home-wrecker, Debra Messing is around for
comic relief, which she fails to provide with her broad turn and Jada
Pinkett Smith delivers a one-note performance as an anger-driven lesbian.
Only Annette Bening survives unscathed as Mary’s best friend who
helps her recover when her life is upturned by her unfaithful husband, only
to ultimately betray her. The drama between these two women is compelling. Unfortunately, the rest of
the production only succeeds in setting back the image of the independent
woman with its vacuous characters and ridiculous circumstances.
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2008.
