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Panic Room
Starring
Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto

Directed by David Fincher

Rated R

***1/4 out of 4 Stars

Released March 29, 2002

Running time: 108 minutes

***1/4

by Mike Joyce

To properly judge this movie, you would want to look at the film's director, David Fincher. The first film of his that I saw was "Alien 3" (1992), which in my opinion was very disappointing. However, I've since came to the conclusion that this was probably because he had a horrible script to work from, rather than sub par directing on his part. Three years later he redeemed himself with the huge box office hit "Seven," starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. It was with this film that I began to notice David Fincher falling into a style all of his own. He further fine-tuned that style with, what I think was his best film, "Fight Club" (1999). If you were to really study the cinematography and camera work that David Fincher used in "Fight Club", you will notice that he takes it to the extreme in "Panic Room". It is this cinematic style that helps take the movie to a whole other level of filmmaking, thus creating a true piece of cinematic art from a somewhat simple story.

The movie wastes no time in introducing Jodie Foster's character, Meg Altman, and her daughter Sarah Altman, played by newcomer Kristen Stewart. Without blatantly telling us, we discover that Meg is the wife of a Pharmaceutical mogul who has been cheating on her. Apparently they have separated, and Meg is trying to move on with her life. Sarah on the other hand is disgruntled by this separation, and she tries to distance herself from her mother. The two then purchase a large house with a secret safe room called a panic room. When Meg is first introduced to this room she is very reluctant to the idea of such a thing. But with the convincing of the realtor, Meg gets the house, and her and Sarah move in.

On the first night in their new house, three burglars break in without knowing that Meg and Sarah are there. This trio of thieves, led by Junior (Jared Leto), begins a persistent search for a possible way into the panic room, where Meg and Sarah have locked themselves in. Inside this room is a safe that contains money from the recently deceased, previous owner, whom Junior is related to. For this reason he feels that he is entitled to his share.

Unable to get into the panic room, the three burglars grow frustrated and begin to argue with each other, eventually leading to a breakdown in unity. Chaos ensues the frustration, and the burglars grow more dangerous. Meanwhile, in the panic room, Meg and Sarah begin to form a closer bond with each other as Meg changes from a timid scared woman into a determined and resourceful mother who will stop at nothing to protect her daughter.

The only real qualm that I had with this movie was the annoying performance given by Jared Leto. To his credit the character is probably supposed to be portrayed as a selfish brat that has no idea what he gets himself into, but Jared Leto seems to overact this part a little too much.

Warranting acclaim for his role as Burnham, Forest Whitaker does a good job as a guy trying to do essentially what Jodie Foster's character is trying to do, help his family. Although, the emerging criminal played by Whitaker plans to help his family by stealing the panic room's hidden money. Whitaker plays the role perfectly, effectively conveying the emotional strain on his character, whose needs and desires are at war with his conscience.

Overall, I found this movie to be very intense. It was filled with great twists and action that left me completely satisfied in the end. It is definitely a different type of movie compared to "Fight Club," which was targeted at young aggressive males, where "Panic Room" is the type of movie that can appeal to everyone. It is by far some of David Fincher's best work.

Review written March 31, 2002, CTF.

 

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