Rating of
2/4
One of Neil LaBute's Weakest
Franz Patrick - wrote on 11/27/08
I expected to be greatly entertained coming into this film because I’ve been a fan of Neil LaBute since I watched the masterfully manipulative “The Shape of Things” (I thought it was a bit better than “In the Company of Men” but both are just as mean). I was surprised that this movie didn’t have LaBute’s signature direction and style of storytelling. In fact, I thought it was another typical quasi-thriller from a first time director with a very blatant symbolism that hammers the audiences again and again. Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, and Kerry Washingtom did a good job playing their respective roles and I don’t blame them for the weak script and mediocre direction. For a movie that runs for about two hours long, the thrills are barely there. Knowing LaBute’s repertoire, he offers a number of powerful moral conundrums that last in the audiences’ minds after the credits start rolling. Here, the experience was lackadaisical at best and I forgot about the film right when I got in the car. With a better material, LaBute can definitely make a more poweful picture about race, abuse of power, and family dynamics. “Lakeview Terrace” is mostly a miss but saved by above average acting; the potential is there but the plot distractions derailed this picture.
