Dan Mclellan

'Panic' propelled by directing

Dan Mclellan

Originally published Friday, April 5, 2002

David Fincher's "Panic Room" is a cold, calculated ode to Alfred Hitchcock (especially "Rear Window") that features an excellent cast, gorgeous photography and a slick script.

Jodie Foster plays Meg Altman, and Kristen Stewart plays her daughter, Sarah. Sarah is diabetic, and Meg is claustrophobic. They are looking for a house to replace their home. An old brownstone across the street seems to be the perfect fit for them. It has four floors, a working elevator, servant's quarters and a panic room. Serving as a human safe, this room is intended to protect the homeowners from invaders. On their first night in the new house, Meg and Sarah are forced to use the panic room when three robbers (Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto and Dwight Yoakam) come searching for a hidden treasure.

All the actors are talented and handle their sharply written roles with ease. Granted, the situation that they are placed in doesn't allow for much range, but the five main actors each bring something special to their role. Jodie Foster is especially impressive as the mother forced to extremes to protect her daughter. She moves through the entire range of emotions during the movie and transitions seamlessly. When I said all the actors, I lied. Jared Leto as the whiny and snobbish younger thief strikes a wrong chord and seems miscast. He is an extremely talented and intelligent actor playing a very dumb man. It doesn't click.

Screenwriter David Koepp gets his two heroines into the panic room in about 15 minutes and doesn't let them out for another 90. This was a smart move but a risky one. To pull off a thriller with such little plot and exposition, Koepp needed a director who could trim away the fat and make a compact but nasty movie. Fincher was his man.

Always innovative and usually successful, Fincher is a master at sustaining tension without resorting to cliches. His assured camera work doesn't fall into the current trend of hand-held shaky cam and works to put the audience on edge from the get-go. The credits are the best mood-setters since "The Game," another Fincher thriller. Hard and cold slate letters hover over New York City as if they were guardians. But they also feel as if they could fall at any second and crush those below. They set the mood for the rest of movie and slyly establish the theme. The rest of the film features smooth and confident camera moves that imply that Fincher knows what he wants and how to get it done right.

By trimming away plot exposition, Koepp has created a lean, mean, thrilling machine. Yes, it's derivative, and yes, it's occasionally ridiculous -- but only occasionally. "Panic Room" prides itself on keeping a slightly sick and twisted take on reality. Instead of following our rules of reality it creates its own and sticks to them. There are no magical flights from one corner of the house to another or sudden appearance of a weapon long discarded. Only at the end does the movie veer into extreme implausibility -- and just for a moment.

Despite a few flaws, "Panic Room" creates sufficient tension, keeps the audience riveted for two hours, and is enjoyable to boot.

Daniel McLellan is a freshman at Olympia High School.

'Panic Room'

* * *

- Rating: R.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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