Directed by:
Neil LaButeCinematography:
Rogier StoffersCast:
Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington, Jay Hernandez, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Robert Pine, Justin Chambers, Michael Landes, Vincent Laresca (more)Plots(1)
In Lakeview Terrace, a young couple (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) has just moved into their California dream home when they become the target of their next-door neighbor, who disapproves of their interracial relationship. A stern, single father, this tightly wound LAPD officer (Samuel L. Jackson) has appointed himself the watchdog of the neighborhood. His nightly foot patrols and overly watchful eyes bring comfort to some, but he becomes increasingly harassing to the newlyweds. These persistent intrusions into their lives ultimately turn tragic when the couple decides to fight back. (Sony Pictures)
(more)Reviews (3)
How do you freshen up the most hackneyed thriller plots about psychopathic neighbors so that you can sell them with a straight face and the audience eats them up again? We set them in the historical period everyone associates with a natural disaster, more specifically the California wildfires. Samuel L. Jackson tries very hard and the psychology of the characters is solidly constructed, but this psychology is superficial in the Hollywood mainstream fashion, its only purpose being to entertain us over a tub of popcorn on a Saturday night. Not that I’m complaining; we grew with this and keep consuming it on a daily basis, but for God’s sake – would at least one original plot twist be too much to ask from the screenwriters?
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Samuel L. Jackson saves this from being simply a mediocre thriller about crumbling relations with the neighbors. Personally, what I enjoyed most were the spiteful tricks that the two played on each other (especially what Jackson got up to). And the approaching forest fire fitted very nicely into the story.
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Quite a good film with the perfectly written and acted character of Samuel L. Jackson. I was disappointed that towards the end the plot started to repeat itself a bit and go in a circle that brought nothing new. i.e., "the bad neighbour does something - the good neighbour tells him not to do it - the bad neighbour doesn't give a damn and keeps doing it and invents something new". The fire motif is a good idea, and I liked the magical music. It's a shame that at the expense of the sophistication of Jackson's racist, stunted cop, the script did little to make Patrick Wilson's character even remotely sympathetic.
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