Panic Room (2002)

3 out of 4

Starring: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam, Jared Leto, Patrick Bauchau

Director: David Fincher

Time: 108 mins

Panic Room is a throwback to the thrillers of yesteryear, when films like Charade and Wait Until Dark graced cinema screens. With stylish director David Fincher calling the shots, and dual Oscar-winner Jodie Foster in the lead role, Panic Room has both talent and intelligence propelling its simple story. Though it just falls short of being a classic chiller, the film is a visually arresting and, at times, totally involving exercise in suspense.

Meg Altman (Foster), recently divorced from her rich husband, Stephen (Patrick Bauchau), moves into a huge, multi-floored townhouse in the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart). This townhouse is unique in that it has a "panic room", where the occupants can shut themselves in case of a home invasion. Meg doesn't think it's necessary, until one night a trio of thieves - Burnham (Forest Whitaker), Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) and Junior (Jared Leto) - break in and Meg locks herself and Sarah inside the room. It seems the thieves are after something inside the room, and will stop at nothing to get in.

From this simple setup, Fincher has fashioned an intriguing and very stylistic thriller. Because the setting is almost always inside the house, the locations of various rooms, staircases, and even an elevator must be clearly defined beforehand. This is done via a real estate agent's tour initially, and then through an amazing tracking shot that descends, rises, spins and swoops all over the house. Camera tricks such as following a key through a keyhole and gas through a ventilation shaft are also employed, while the use of shadows and rain (both Fincher trademarks - see Seven and The Game) is everpresent. Even the opening titles are innovative and a little eerie, with cast and production crew names plastered outside buildings like proclamations.

Though Fincher drops the audience into the action pretty soon after the film starts, Panic Room is not really a rollercoaster ride of suspense. There is plenty of talk (and tension) amongst the three thieves, which adds some interesting dynamics and even a little humour at times. Whitaker's Burnham is only there to steal, and not to kill, which puts him at odds with Yoakam's Raoul, who has brought a gun with him. Leto's Junior is the ringleader and the most highly strung, yet is prepared to walk away if the going gets tough. On the other hand, Foster's relationship with her daughter is hardly developed, yet one can see the bond between them, having been through a divorce. There are occasions when Foster is almost about to lose control of herself, yet her daughter's smarts and determination pull her through.

When the films calls for suspense, however, Fincher doesn't disappoint. There is one sequence where he used slow motion that I thought would have been better in real time, but the scene still works. The finale is expertly staged, if not quite the heartstopper it could have been. And it helps that both sides are smart, always trying to outwit the other. There are definitely moments when you think to yourself, "Why didn't they...", but the script knows there are a few loose holes and plays on them. In particular, when one of the characters says, "Why didn't we do that?", you will grin in appreciation.

Foster commands the screen in a compelling performance. It's not an Oscar-calibre role, but she still projects enough intelligence, fear, and steel to show why she's one of the best actresses working today. Kristen Stewart, who plays her daughter, is also quite good, without being the precocious and annoying kid that sometimes these films feel obligated to have. As for the three thieves, it was interesting to see Forest Whitaker, that genial star of films like Good Morning Vietnam, playing a villain. I never thought it was entirely possible that Whitaker could be a ruthless bad guy, and his character, a non-violent type with some heart, bears that out. Jared Leto, who was memorable in American Psycho, surprises with his adrenaline-charged (and funny) performance, though he, too, is not predisposed to violence. It's left to country music star Dwight Yoakam to take on the cruel villain persona, and he provides the menace required to ratchet up the suspense. Without him, the film would have been a pointless exercise.

It's good to see a thriller in the old mold again, one without too much violence but a lot of clever protagonists. In the hands of director Fincher, Panic Room becomes a study of style, shadows, and some worthwhile thrills. You won't be biting your nails consistently, but the film delivers for entertainment.

(c) Joe Wong (31 March 2002)