Ever since previews for this movie started playing before it even hit theaters, I was unimpressed. Honestly, it looked like dozens of other “neighbor from hell” thrillers that came before it. Even the premise of a cop tormenting an innocent couple was familiar territory. I remember watching the previews thinking that even the preview was predictable. Strangely, the movie fan in me never really knows when to say “NO” when it comes to movies, even ones that I have no inclination to see, and as a result I rented this on a boring Monday night.
Lakeview Terrace is a movie about a newlywed interracial couple, Chris and Lisa Mattson (played by Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) who purchase their first home next door to LAPD officer Abel Turner(a menacing Samuel L. Jackson). Right off the bat there is something about the couple, particularly white husband Chris, that rubs Turner the wrong way. What initially begins as a few occasional distasteful racial comments from Turner soon escalates into full on terrorism as Turner becomes determined to stop at nothing in order to get his new neighbors to relocate. While the premise doesn’t seem too original, the film manages to address familiar issues from a somewhat unique perspective.
Racism has been repeatedly explored in other films, however Lakeview Terrace is one of the only films I can recall that explored racism from a seldom acknowledged perspective, that is blacks being prejudiced against whites. It is somewhat interesting to witness this shift, as Jackson’s character, a black LAPD officer, is in a position of empowerment to oppress his white neighbor, which he does repeatedly throughout the film. Even more interesting is Turner’s motivation for his actions, which is revealed about mid point through the film. While it doesn’t justify anything he does, it does manage to provide some insight into his train of thought. This was actually the highlight of the film, not only offering a somewhat unique viewpoint, but also giving the character an interesting driving factor for his thoughts and actions.
Unfortunately, the rest of the movie doesn’t seem to hold up as well. All of the harassment scenes and the confrontations seem rehashed from similar type films. There is little here that has not been done better many times before. While Samuel L. Jackson turns in a fairly good performance, it is nowhere near his best work. It is fun at times to watch him cut loose and get crazy, but we’ve seen him act far crazier and more convincing in some of his other films that it all ends up seeming a bit tame. The rest of the cast is decent, yet relatively unremarkable. Sadly, that is really all I have to comment about the remaining cast. Their performances weren’t bad by any means, but you get the impression that the roles could have been filled by any number of up and coming actors that could have given just as good a performance.
Overall, as a rental it kept me somewhat entertained for its running time. The movie, although a bit cliche, is pretty decent. If I watched it at the theater though, I would definitely wish that I had waited for video. Fans of Samuel L. Jackson and thriller fans may enjoy this one. Bottom line is that it is a decent rental, but not quite worth paying full theater admission to see.
