DVDFile

Director Neil LaBute has built a career on making provocative films that push the envelope. His groundbreaking early work on In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors raised poignant issues of gender in the workplace and sexual politics, while later efforts like Nurse Betty and The Shape of Things delved into even darker territories of the human psyche. So it makes sense that he might be drawn to Lakeview Terrace, a movie that appears on the surface to be nothing more than a routine thriller about feuding neighbors but really has a lot more on its mind than why “we all can’t just get along,” to quote Rodney King, who’s also referenced in the movie. Although LaBute didn’t originate this material – the screenplay is credited to David Loughery and Howard Korder – it has his fingerprints all over it and easily falls in line with his dominant theme of dysfunctional human interaction.

 

Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson) is a Los Angeles police officer living in a peaceful suburban home development known as Lakeview Terrace. Widowed and the father of two children, Turner is strictly set in his ways when it comes to raising his kids and he strives to keep them from any potentially negative influences. He meticulously corrects their grammar and dotes on them constantly. Having been a cop with the LAPD for 28 years, he’s seen his fair share of kids whose poor decisions have led to desperate measures and he doesn’t want the same to happen to his son or daughter. Within the safe, isolated confines of Lakeview Terrace, there’s nothing to upset this self-fulfilling prophecy… that is until Chris Mattson (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington) move in next door. This young, interracial couple seems to spark some deep-seated hatred within Turner and they immediately become the target of his obsessive attention.

 

Chris and Lisa, meanwhile, are somewhat naïve newlyweds who are tickled pink to be first-time homeowners. They arrive in awe of their new surroundings and hope to befriend their fellow neighbors. The first feeble attempts at getting to know Turner – a few unreturned smiles and waves – suggest he’s not the friendly type. But Chris, who’s already faced the similar disapproval of Lisa’s father Harold (Ron Glass) over his African-American daughter marrying a white man, seems determined to win over Turner’s affection. Their first real encounter happens when Chris least expects it – while sneaking a cigarette in the car before going into the house one night after work. Turner pops up like a cop during a routine traffic stop, questioning Chris under the glare of a flashlight. Turner makes some veiled comments about the hip-hop music Chris has blaring on the radio and seems less than enthused about welcoming the new couple to his neighborhood. Claiming to be a “neighborhood watchdog” doing nightly rounds in the development, Turner leaves Chris with an unsettling first impression.

 

Things only escalate from there as Turner’s piercing backyard security lights shine through Chris and Lisa’s bedroom window and stay on all night, disturbing their sleep. When Chris asks Turner if he can turn them off, Turner says he’ll see what he can do but scowls in disapproval at the suggestion. Likewise, when Turner comes home after work one day to find his son and daughter peeping on the couple having sex in their pool, it raises his ire even more. Other mysterious things start happening: the air conditioner in Chris and Lisa’s house stops working one hot night and when Chris goes to check on it, he finds a discarded cigarette butt – one that he casually threw into Turner’s flower beds – with a screw through it inside the unit. Still hoping to make nice, Chris and Lisa invite Turner over to a house-warming party with some of their friends. It doesn’t take long for Turner to rub everyone the wrong way with his proclamations about criminal behavior and how the police are unfairly berated in Los Angeles for using excessive force against perpetrators. As Chris follows Turner out the door, he pleads with him to end this back-and-forth bickering, to which Turner replies with a malicious grin just as his timed security lights flick back on with full force.

 

Things go from bad to worse when a series of events bring the dueling neighbors to the brink of war. First, Turner’s daughter, Celia, innocently goes over to take a swim in Lisa’s pool and strikes up a rapport with the woman. When Turner finds them together, he flips out and chastises Lisa for attempting to influence his daughter. Chris then hires a landscaping company to plant a row of tall shrubs along the fence between their properties so Turner can no longer spy on them. But Turner retaliates by taking a chainsaw to the plantings that are hanging over onto his property. Last, but not least, when Turner and the Mattsons show up at the same neighborhood house party they pretend to be friends for the sake of appearances. But Turner has engaged the services of a known drug peddler to break into the Mattson house during the party and trash the place in the hopes that this will finally scare the couple off. Feeling ill, Lisa unexpectedly heads home early and catches the criminal in the act. Responding to the security alarm she sets off, both Chris and Turner arrive and the latter is forced to shoot the intruder dead so he doesn’t squeal. But there’s one incriminating piece of evidence left behind at the Mattson house that Turner can’t find: a cell phone that can be traced back to him.

 

Although the somewhat transparent final act devolves into a predictable Western-style climax, the bulk of the movie remains solid and points up some interesting issues about how bigotry and prejudice still drive a lot of people today, regardless of color. Some have criticized the movie for taking advantage of the race issue and exploiting it within the confines of a cheap thriller, but I have to give the talent involved the benefit of the doubt and assume that’s not what they intended. I don’t think LaBute, despite his recent misstep in helming the awful remake of The Wicker Man, would get involved with something so mundane; and Jackson, in particular, brings a certain gravitas to his performance that doesn’t smack at all of a quick paycheck. His steely work is what anchors the movie and he brings a sense of empathy and understanding to his role. You certainly don’t have to agree with his point of view, but you can’t fault him for feeling the way he does, either.

 

What I find most intriguing about Lakeview Terrace is how it is the African-American cop who harbors the most resentment for the interracial couple that’s moved into his neighborhood, which is something of a role reversal from most movie depictions. Likewise, it is Jackson’s character that appears to be the uptight and uncompromising conservative in the bunch (he pointedly refers to Mattsons’ friends as “liberals” during the party), thereby putting a different spin on not only the race issue, but also current party line politics. Complex and layered, Lakeview Terrace aspires to something more than a neighbor dispute gone horribly wrong – it’s a thought-provoking thriller that makes you wonder how you’re perceived by those next-door neighbors just over the backyard fence.

 

 

The film’s original 2.40:1 aspect ratio is presented in a very good high definition transfer compressed with the AVC video CODEC. The image quality is consistently sharp, detailed and well-defined. Despite the film’s stylistic use of a desaturated and faded color palette, courtesy of cinematographer Rogier Stoffers (Mongol), color balance remains quite good and the bright sunlit exteriors of the Californian suburban neighborhood literally pop off the screen. Black levels remain deep, dark and inky and the source print reveals no signs of specks or blemishes. Flesh tones all look natural and nicely rendered while compression artifacts are non-existent. Details such as the flowered print pattern on Turner’s Hawaiian-style shirt during the house party and the intricate greenery that Chris has installed to buffer them from Turner all look crisp and vivid. Although not as vibrant and colorful as some of the better reference-level transfers, this BD certainly offers a solid, film-like image. Overall, a very good video presentation.

 

 

Warner brings Lakeview Terrace to BD with a stellar Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track that provides a full and aggressive surround sound experience. There’s plenty of discrete content afforded to all six channels, with a deep and consistent bottom end, clearly-defined midrange, and sharp high end. Although somewhat dialogue-heavy, the track still keeps things interesting with nice directional front and rear effects such as a hovering helicopter near the climax, booming gunshots during one of Turner’s police calls, and the blaring music of an out-of-control late night bachelor party held at Turner’s house. The original score by Jeff and Mychael Danna is given ample room to breathe through both the front and rear channels while dialogue remains clear and concise through the front center-channel. Although this track isn’t quite as active as an action-packed offering like The Dark Knight, it’s still an impressive and consistent audio presentation.

 

The optional subtitles are in English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Indonesian.

 

 

Lakeview Terrace is given a decent if not overly-abundant offering of bonus material, beginning with a feature-length running audio commentary with director Neil LaBute and co-star Kerry Washington. Despite the disappointing absence of Samuel L. Jackson, both LaBute and Washington provide a nice overview of the project, discussing how it essentially began under the guidance of Will Smith’s production company and had another director originally attached before LaBute came onboard. The track is brisk and informative, although LaBute pretty much dominates the conversation. Washington does provide some interesting insight into the motivations of the characters and stressed how important it was for her and co-star Patrick Wilson to rehearse beforehand. Both heap a lot of praise on Samuel L. Jackson and they often point out his great little facial expressions and glaring eyes during specific scenes.

 

Next is a collection of eight deleted scenes that can be viewed with optional commentary from director Neil LaBute. These include: Dad Inspects New Home (1:04), Unpacking (1:27), Chris Wakes Up (0:35), Chris’ Presentation/Lisa Talks with Donnie (3:08), Chris Shops for Curtains (0:55), Chris and Lisa’s Party (0:46), Abel and Lisa Knife Confrontation (R-rated version) (4:10), and Abel and Lisa Knife Confrontation (PG-13 version) (2:29). Most of these are either extensions of existing scenes or just needless padding, save for the two versions of Abel and Lisa Knife Confrontation, which shows an even darker side to Turner’s harassment of the young couple. LaBute wisely removed this scene from the film explaining in his commentary that it made Abel Turner seem far more sinister and unbalanced. With this scene gone, there’s a little more empathy and ambiguity to Turner’s otherwise reprehensible actions.

 

Three featurettes collectively titled Welcome to Lakeview Terrace: Behind the Scenes include An Open House (5:46), Meet Your Neighbors (6:32), and Home Sweet Home (6:39). All three are presented in typical EPK fashion with onscreen interviews with cast and crew members including director Neil LaBute, writer David Loughery, and co-stars Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington. Again, the absence of Samuel L. Jackson is disappointing, but everyone else chimes in with some interesting tales from the set intercut with actual footage of the shoot. The first segment goes into the genesis of the project and some of the controversial themes they set out to tackle, the second segment is more about the casting and production process, while the final segment goes into aspects of production design and how director LaBute, who’s not known for staging stunts and action sequences, managed to pull those components together for the film.

 

The BD also offers downloadable content for players that are BD-Live enabled, along with the standard Sony BD promo and trailers for Passengers, Hancock, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, Damages: Season One, XXX: State of the Union,and S.W.A.T.

 

The 110-minute film is divided into sixteen chapters.

 

Boasting a strong, scene-stealing performance from Samuel L. Jackson, Lakeview Terrace is a thought-provoking thriller that attempts to wrangle with underlying issues of bias and bigotry within the confines of a “safe” suburban setting. Although the final act becomes a bit pedestrian, the first two-thirds and Jackson’s menacing interpretation of a rogue LAPD cop kept me riveted. With very good video and audio presentations and a decent sampling of bonus material, this BD is highly recommended.