Review of Panic Room (2002) by Cameron J — 22 May 2013

Hey, over ten years ago, Jared Leto was off trying to break into panic room, now only so many people remember who he is and Muse actually has a whole doggone panic "station", so which do you reckon is the more successful alternative rock band here, 30 Seconds to Mars boy? Quite frankly, I think both Jared Leto and the band Muse are exceptionally talented musicians who are just kind of wasting their time with overstylized, underwhelming modern rock sensibilities, I just want Leto's faith in the music business to be shaken just long enough for him to return to film, hopefully without a mohawk or, well, cornrows. Yeah, he's too white to pull off cornrows here, but hey, Kentuckian Dwight Yoakam is in this film playing some guy named Raoul, and just about everyone I've heard of with the name Burnham was as white as it gets up until I heard Forest Whitaker's character's name in this film, so I reckon I shouldn't question race when it comes to this film. Shoot, I just realized that we're talking about Jared Leto, - a modern rocker - Dwight Yoakam, - a modern country musician - and Forest Whitaker, who played Ghost Dog, who sounds like a rapper, so if Jodie Foster is trying to hide from the main modern music genres, then she probably shouldn't have brought along Kristen Stewart, because as big as she's gotten to be in the pop culture, I wouldn't want to run the risk that she would be trailed by a swarm of terrible pop music. Eh, I reckon Foster would be in the clear, because with all of my joking about Leto not being in movies in forever and Stewart's being such a pop culture icon, this film came out long before "Twilight" and "Mr. Nobody", and the real hiatus issue as this time involved David Fincher, who, I don't know, got stuck in his own panic room or something for a couple of years and didn't grace the world with his amazing films. Well, this film was just good, and every film that Fincher has been doing since his return from hiatus has ranged from awesome to just downright amazing, so I guess he was just off developing his skills, because, you know, after making a film that's about as good as any that's ever been made, it's time to start thinking about bettering yourself. So yeah, it should pretty much go without saying that this film, as good as it is, isn't exactly the most worthy follow-up that Fincher could have done for "Fight Club", and while that is admittedly a really, really high standard, the fact of the matter is that this film can't really hit its problems away.

David Fincher made no pretense with the promotion of this film and actively billed this effort as a "popcorn thriller", and sure enough, no matter how inspired this above-average thriller is, it puts only so much care into plenty of areas of substance, which go tainted by such things as conventionalism that retards momentum that must be rationed in a film this minimalist with a touch of predictability for every beat that you don't really see coming, while crafting characters who are a bit too familiar, though perhaps not familiar enough. You can probably guess the background of this film's characters, as a lot of them are pretty formulaic, though you shouldn't have to, yet that doesn't stop screenwriter David Koepp from neglecting to really work on expository depth that should be a little ambiguous for a thriller this at least conceptually unpredictable, but not this thin, to where you know all but nothing about the characters who drive this bottle film, and learn only so much during the film's body. The acting and direction behind all of the characterization is compelling enough for your investment in the leads to be firmly secured, yet more needs to be said, because without extensive written development, engagement value can be sustained for only so long before being shaken, and it doesn't help that thrill value is sustained for only so long before limping out. As early as the entrance into the film's body, momentum picks up enough for dullness to be kept at bay, and gradually continues to pick up, but the fact of the matter is that the film gets off to a mighty slow start, with more than a few relatively bland notes, which can, in fact, be found here and there even throughout the film's body, as you would imagine, because as engaging as this film's body is, at least compared to the early acts, the final product has plenty of time to kill on slow spots. It's pretty impressive how much this film does what it can to keep up necessary-seeming material and make sure that momentum never limps out for too long of a stretch, but we're still dealing with a very minimalist bottle thriller that clocks in at just under two hours, and you can do only so much to meat up a film like this before things start to drag out with excess material and meanderings that eventually devolve into all-out repetition that gives you more than enough time to meditate upon the film's other issues, both consequential and natural. Just as Fincher promised, this film is a popcorn thriller, plain and simple, and while what is done right is done very well, to where you are bound to be rewarded if you're willing to run with what Fincher is serving up nice and juicy, natural shortcomings cannot to be completely polished, especially when emphasized by too much steadiness that could have easily blanded the final product into underwhelmingness. Of course, for every lull in compellingness, there are hard kicks, and enough of them to engage you time and again with chills, thrills and, shoot, just for good measure, decent music.

By 2002, Howard Shore was beginning to come into his own as a well-regarded composer of modern classical musical epics, and if you ask me, I very much prefer his sweeping efforts over his more minimalist thriller scores, which isn't to say that Shore doesn't know how make a chilling score, as this film will tell you, for Shore marries both style and minimalism in his compositions to grace reasonably entertaining musicality with raw atmosphere that adds to the film's grit, though not quite as much as Conrad W. Hall's and Darius Khondji's cinematography, which brings David Fincher's distinct and exceptional visual style to striking life with a bleak lighting and coloring that is both rugged and complimentary to intensity. If this film does nothing else, it looks excellent, with a handsomely profound focus on visual grit that is classic David Fincher, but, as with most every David Fincher film, this stylish thriller does indeed do more than just look handsome, and has a fair bit of room to get things done. I've said it twice and I'll say it one more time: this is something of a popcorn thriller, and one that doesn't exactly aim to pull terribly unique moves, though hardly to where potential for refreshing compellingness is thrown completely out of the window, for although the basic formula behind the telling of this tale is familiar, there are genuinely disguishing beats, or at least compensation for storytelling shortcomings, even in the writing department, because with all of the dragging and exposition issues in David Koepp's script, - which is sometimes admittedly not all that hot when it comes to dialogue - the situations are generally tight and buyable, having enough harsh realism and dynamicity to keep repetition from setting in too much. The film could have gone a bit over the top, but no, it keeps consistent with believability that really sells you on the weight of the tension, which is what you can say about the performances, which are, like the characters themselves, too undercooked to be all that gripping, but do about as much as anything in compensating for expository shortcomings through human effectiveness, particularly in such standouts as the intriguing Forest Whitaker as a bright criminal with a code, the relatively all too quickly removed Jared Leto as the frustrated and flawed, yet dangerous-seeming criminal, the chillingly effective Dwight Yoakam as the quiet criminal who turns out to be a cold-blooded and unpredictable danger, and, of course, leading lady Jodie Foster, whose convincing portrayal of a struggling mother and divorcée who must take highly risky actions when she and her loved ones are threatened drives home much of the dramatic punch to this film. When it comes to acting, style and believability, this film is indeed above average as a commercial thriller, and such integrity is almost enough for the final product to reward, while what really gets you compelled is a man who can do no wrong and once again stands out as the true driving force behind this film. Sure, David Fincher, perhaps the greatest mainstream film director, at least by now, is not backed by a story concept or script that is strong enough for a truly excellent film to be made, but what is done right in the direction department gets this film by a long way, whether it be in the entertainment department that is anchored by such trademark stylistic touches as a clever usage of visual effects, editing and sound design, or in the engagement value that really falunts Fincher's ability as a storyteller at times, as Fincher, through witty style and generally tight scene construction, really captures a sense of claustrophobia that plunges you into this environment, while playing up the dynamics in the story's structuring enough to not simply battle back monotony, but give you a feel for the rises and falls in tension to this story. The film doesn't start out particularly strong, being too slow and undercooked to be all that engaging, but when the body arrives, genuinely compelling intrigue sets in as conflict presents itself, and as conflict grows more and more consequential, tension begins a steady, but sure rise that continues to build as tension works its way to a head, until, before too long, you find yourself drawn to the film throughout its body, which comes down to an outstanding climax that is bound to tense you up something fierce and give you a firm reminder of Fincher's being a master of, at the very least, thrills, and while the final product isn't as strong as its final moments, intrigue is sustained enough throughout its course for all the slow spells, underdevelopment and conventions to be settled enough for fine style, writing, acting and direction to make a thriller that may only be above average, but nonetheless rewards the patient.

When the panic dies down, a so-called "popcorn thriller" pays little attention to obscuring conventions and fleshing you characters with all that much expository depth, while atmospheric dry spells exacerbate the sting of the dragging that could have driven the final product into underwhelmingness, but doesn't, as there is enough grit to Howard Shore's score work and Conrad W. Hall's and Darius Khondji's handsome cinematography, tight believability to both David Koepp's script and the acting, and gripping effectiveness to David Fincher's predictably upstanding direction for "Panic Room" to stand as a decently compelling and often chilling thriller that emerges safe and sound as rewarding.

3/5 - Good.