Movie Review - 'Lakeview Terrace'

Lakeview Terrace

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, and Kerry Washington
Directed by Neil LaBute
Rated PG-13

"Playing the race card." When did we first hear that phrase? The O.J. Simpson trial? The practice has been around a lot longer, of course. But what it means is that race is introduced into a situation as a red herring, to divert attention away from the real issue. For example, Mark Fuhrman's racism was not on trial, O.J. Simpson was. But when the defense played the race card, the trial got off track. And so it is with Lakeview Terrace, which would not exist in any practical manner without the race card. An interracial couple moves into a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Chris (Patrick Wilson) just got a new job in the city and Lisa (Kerry Washington) works at home. They're not trying to bother anyone. But their next door neighbor, a police officer named Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson), doesn't like "their kind." Out comes the race card. Abel has more issues than his neighbors; he's a pretty angry guy most of the time. But he doesn't like Chris from the outset, so the couple becomes the target of his rage. He's fully intent on gettin' these mothereffing miscegenators out of his mothereffing cul de sac. Abel uses threats, scare tactics and staged break-ins to try to force his neighbors to move, but they won't budge. When they fight back, Chris and Lisa say things like, "I better not catch you doing that again," to which Abel storms, "Or what?" The inference is that, because he's a police officer, he can do anything he wants. That would never be true, perhaps least of all in Los Angeles, but it's the drain the screenplay circles over and over again. It's tough to know whether or not screenwriters David Loughery and Howard Korder and director Neil LaBute wanted to keep this tension so direct for the purposes of storytelling of if they just forgot to make Abel Turner an actual character. I'm going with the latter, because there's a scene in the middle of this heated relationship in which Abel explains to Chris where he felt his anger came from. Though it's probably the best individual scene in Lakeview Terrace, because Jackson sells it authoritatively, it simply doesn't fit with anything that came before it or the obvious conclusion that follows it. It's fun to watch Samuel L. Jackson elevate bad movies. It may be his true calling. Yes, he's fantastic in some good movies, too, but when he's allowed free reign to be as physically imposing and as menacing as possible, he's in full-on Jules Winnfield mode, and it's a great thing to behold. Unfortunately, there's only so far anyone can elevate a bad movie. But you can't say Jackson doesn't give it his all in Lakeview Terrace. Maybe if we graded movies on volume...

Comments

[quin browne]

piffle.

i liked lakeview, and accepted the reasons able gives for his, up until then, unknown anger towards the pair. i bought the way he dealt with his kids, having a father much like that growing up.... his way or the highway. i loved chris' arc... and felt the race issues were well handled.

jackson was great (i actually liked snakes on a plane, go figure)... i do wish the film had been 'r', as it would have allowed labute to bring in more to the plot in way of language and behaviour, i think.

so, for once, i don't agree with you.... don't tell sean.

[C. Semmell]

"The inference is that, because he's a police officer, he can do anything he wants. That would never be true, perhaps least of all in Los Angeles"

I take it the author wrote the above sentence completely tongue in cheek, particularly the bit that ran 'that would never be true, perhaps least of all in Los Angeles'.

I take it he has never heard of a little thing called the 'Rodney King Incident' and presumably that he is even less aware of the thousands of unknown Rodney Kings that have actually experienced various members of the LAPD doing exactly what they want, whenever and whereever they want.