Sam Jackson returns for Jungle Fever I mean Lake View Terrace. After watching the trailer for "Lakeview Terrace" I had no idea the film was about racism. The trailer shows an interracial couple moving next door to a black cop and then being terrorized by him. But the motive for his actions isn't mentioned. Only in doing research did I learn that he's against the idea of an interracial couple. Why was it so hard to mention that? Maybe the studio thought too many people would be turned away by a movie about race, which makes me wonder why they made the movie in the first place.
Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington play Chris and Lisa Mattson, an interracial couple who have just into a nice house in Lakeview Terrace, a beautiful Californian suburb. Only minutes into the film we learn of his distaste for Kobe Bryant when his son puts on his jersey. I wonder why? He tells him to put on Shaq's jersey instead as if Shaq is any better role model.
The movie starts off well. Turner has a good reason for dis-liking them in the beginning. Chris and Lisa have a public make out session in their pool while his kids watch from an upstairs window. How does Turner handle it? He disables their air conditioner. At that point it becomes clear that Turner is far beyond a typical racist, he's complete psycho. And that's when "Lakeview Terrace" looses all its credibility.
Turner is supposed to be a dedicated father, whose sole purpose is to protect his kids. That gives him humanity. That makes him a believable character. But half way through the movie his kids are sent away so Abel can do things completely out of character, like hosting a bachelor party at three in the morning. I can't blame Samuel Jackson for creating such ludicrous character. His performance is decent, but certainly not his best work when it comes to yelling and acting crazy.
Blame the writers. I imagine that at one point "Lakeview Terrace" was intended to be a realistic film about a real people in a real situation: an interracial couple moves next door to a bitter racist. But I'm sure that was changed to make the movie more exciting. The bitter racist was transformed into a bitter psycho racist who does things that no human being would ever do. I sure hope no one saw this movie expecting just a routine thriller. Films about race can be hard to stomach at times, I hope the people that saw this movie knew what they were getting.
But despite themes of race, this movie has nothing to say about race. It's a silly movie that just uses racism as an easy motivation for one character to terrorize another. There are several opportunities where the film makers had a chance to say something about race. Turner's daughter wonders what it would be like to date a white boy that she likes. Well as interesting as that would be, it never happens.
What a waste. Chris and Lisa mention children numerous times. And it becomes clear that bringing an interracial child into the world is an issue in this movie, but that sub plot has no pay off at all. What would Turner think of a mixed race child living next door? Well he never knows about it so what's the point? Despite my grievances with this film I must admit it is quite exciting.
You never know what Turner is going to do next and creates genuine suspense. But that suspense isn't strong enough to cover the foul stench this film leaves behind when it ends. Not one minute of it is believable and each scene gets more ridiculous then the one before it. My grade: D. FAQ 5. What is 'Lakeview Terrace' about? Is "Lakeview Terrace" based on a book? What is the rap song in the trailer? Details Edit. Release date September 19, United States.
United States. Same script. It would be the story of a sociopathic white racist. It might be interesting, but it would have trouble getting made. The casting of Jackson as the neighbor creates a presumption of innocence that some will hold on to longer than the story justifies. Don't think for a moment that LaBute doesn't know audience members will be thinking about that switch of identities.
He wants us to. All of his films feature nasty people who challenge nasty thoughts or fears within ourselves. Is this movie racist for making the villain black or would it be equally racist by making the villain white? What's your answer? Jackson, a Los Angeles police veteran, lives on Lakeview Terrace, a crescent of comfortable suburbia in the hills of the city. The lots are pie-shaped, so the houses are placed close together, but the lots open out into big backyards. They seem fairly recently married, happy.
Turner starts slowly, dropping some subtly hostile remarks, and then escalates his war on this couple. I will not describe his words and actions, except to say he pushes buttons that make the Mattsons first outraged, then fearful, then angry -- at him, and each other.
Take another step back. Mattson's father-in-law, a successful attorney, is Mattson's own parents, his wife observes, "are always making a point of telling me how much they love me. Because they do, or because they don't? What do you think? Lisa's father asks Chris point-blank: "Are you planning to have children with my daughter?
Doesn't sound like it. Well, are they having kids? Lisa wants to get pregnant right now. Chris says, "We have an agreement to wait awhile. Because that makes sense while they're getting their feet on the ground? Or because he's ambivalent about his wife?
You decide. Even if waiting does "make sense," are his feelings worthy of their marriage? Even while making a superb thriller, LaBute makes the film more than that. It deals with one of his themes, the difficult transition from prolonged adolescence to manhood, a journey Chris takes in the film. It is not easy. Many of the steps are contrary to his nature. LaBute ingeniously poses moral choices in all of his films. In his first great movie, " In the Company of Men ," about a cruel office worker who plays a trick on a deaf woman, does the villain gain more pleasure by hurting her or forcing his passive male co-worker to act against his own better nature?
Why does the co-worker go along? Buried aggression? Homoerotic feelings for his buddy? On top of all these questions, LaBute constructs a tightly wound story that also involves crude male bonding at an LAPD bachelor party, sexual humiliation, attempted rape not by Chris or Abel , a cat-and-mouse game with cell phones and a violent conclusion during which we must decide if Chris is right about Abel, or wrong, or just discovering how to push his buttons.
I'm surprised by the PG rating. It's a challenging journey LaBute takes us on. Some will find it exciting. Some will find it an opportunity for an examination of conscience. Some will leave feeling vaguely uneasy. Some won't like it and will be absolutely sure why they don't, but their reasons will not agree.
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