Review of Lakeview Terrace (2008) by Tomas T — 26 Feb 2011

A tale of a man not being able to let go, literally. The Lakeview Terrance is a movie of obsession and everyday nightmare that a disturbed person can spread all around him.

An elderly police officer Able (S.L Jackson) with some deep scars and personal tragedy past unleashes his bottled up anger to whomever in his vicinity. Reasoning with a man with strong principals and strong self justification is sometimes plain impossible and the movie presents that well.

Able is not exactly jumping out of joy when his new neighbours move in, especially when the young couple is bit too liberal for Able's taste. Better part of the movie is spent with Able and the new couple fighting it out over everyday small matters. Eventually the small fights get out of hand and the movie takes a darker tone with Able slipping further and further out of control.

Samuel L.Jackson is the definitive star of the show pulling one of his better roles as disturbed police officer. His role is so convincing that one wonders after the movie, is the actor like this in real life too. Hopefully not! For the director the Lakeview Terrance is a great improvement over the flop Wicker Man. There are many directoral similarities with the movies, especially the opressive athmosphere which both movies have but luckily the setting and the story are much more down to earth and interesting with Lakeview Terrance.

Lakeview Terrance is jack of all trades kind of movie, it has something for everybody, but with a cost. It is not overly good nor bad in anything making it good entertainment without leaving any permanent memories.