Hey folks, Harry here with two looks at David Fincher's THE PANIC ROOM. First off some things you need to know. Number One, this isn't due out till February of next year... so that's an eternity away, so problems and timing and stuff like 'the visible windmachine' will most likely be completely and totally gone. This was David testing the film on out on an audience. The second reviewer actually was 'offended' by a shot of the World Trade Center in the film, calling it tasteless... When, most likely, just like every other film we're hearing about, that will be digitally removed so over-reaction doesn't come up like it does in that second review. Lastly, several of AICN's regulars went, but have early spy missions in the morning, and couldn't file a report tonight, but the overall reaction is mixed. Some liked it, some did not and one hated it. We'll be hearing more, but for now, we have one positive and one negative for ya... Personally noone could ever write a review to keep me away from a Fincher flick, I read enough retarded diatribes against FIGHT CLUB to fill a bathtub... and they were about as wrong from my p.o.v. as you could possibly get. We'll see this time out.... but not for quite some time...
Hey Harry,
Moose Malloy here.
Just wanted to give you a brief review of “Panic Room” from a test screening last night in La Canada - Fincher was in the house.
They said it was the first time it had been shown to an audience - that it was a rough cut and that it would be video projected. But the film looked great - crisp image, all timed, no timecode or edge numbers. The only sign of the film not being complete was the temp music - a lot from “Se7en” - and a few of the transitions within effect shots needed a touch more blending.
I’m not gonna give away too much but I will say that I enjoyed the movie a lot. The film is basically a suspense tale that has Jodie Foster and daughter hiding away from three bad guys in the Panic Room or “safe” room - of their new house - that is supposedly impenetrable, while the bad guys - Forrest Whitaker, Jared Leto, & Dwight Yokam - try to get in and get the mad cash that’s in the safe inside.
It has good suspense, good violence, and just a little gore. The film does start off a little slow with the introduction of Jodie Foster and her daughter as they look at and move into the house - although it does the necessary job of establishing the geography of the house - which is where we spend all of our time. In the early moments you would have a hard time knowing it was a David Fincher film, but once the bad guys start casing the house all the dope camera moves start coming our way.
Jodie Foster is - as expected - very good and has a couple of nice “Ripley - Get away from her you bitch!” moments.
Fincher rocks the house. Heapings of suspense.
My only real problems with the film was some of the dialogue between the bad guys - it wasn’t as sharp as it could have been - and Jared Leto was a little annoying - but maybe that’s just me.
So, not as bomb as “Se7en” and “Fight Club” but a good flick none the less. People will gasp. People will cheer. Popcorn will be eaten. *An interesting note - the film had two D.P.’s listed and two MVP’s at that - Conrad Hall and Dari ous Khongi (I have no idea how to spell his name). Don’t know what happened there or how that worked. Maybe one shot all of the stuff in the panic room and the other shot everything else. Don’t know.
So, that’s my take. Enjoy... Word? Word.
Moose Malloy
And now for a totally different take that really didn't like it.
I was able to see The Panic Room by lying. I am actually working member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
I wrote down that I was a food service employee. I got in.
I'll cut to the chase.
I was able to see David Fincher's newest effort excitingly entitled The Panic Room tonight. This will be a basically be a spoiler free review as I tend to think people should experience things for themselves.
David FIncher's latest outing (The Panic Room) is a predictable [and sometimes entertaining] film that is more style than substance.
The Panic Room stars Jodie Foster as a woman who is just coming down off a tumultous marriage and she is buying a overly large and creepy brownstone house in Manhattan for her and her 13-14 year old daughter to live in.
That is the premise of the film.
Basically that's it, a woman who has lost everything buys a huge scary mansion in Manhattan's upper east side for her and her 1 daughter to live in. However much this setup seems intriguing it's not, every step is contrived, the mother who happens to have a fear of confined spaces ends up in that confined space. The daughter who is a tom boy know it all and by the way is a diabetic and of course there is terror in the panic room as she is without her insulin, {oh my gosh}.
Of course, the film takes place mostly on a dark and gloomy night as the rain comes pouring down and the thunder clapps. And unbelievably enough, in one scene you could see the wind machine blowing the trees around on the streets of Manhattan, I was shocked.
Never have I been so let down by a director who has done nothing but blown my expectations in each of his previous such as Alien 3, Fight Club, The Game and Seven. The beauty of a FIncher film is that you never know what you're going to get. In The Panic Room the audience knows exactly what it's going to get and when. It's a thriller, nothing to figure out, nothing to wonder about.
Jared Leto turns in one of the worst performances I have seen in a long time as one of the intruders over acting in every scene he is in. When his screen time is over, it is a welcome relief. He was AWFUL!!!!!! What was he trying to prove?? Perhaps the director thought that to make Jared look mean and evil he should have corn rolls and a beard, then he will look scary. Oh My God I was so threatened by him.........PLEASE Jared Leto is a pretty boy and he knows it, the world knows it. Lately he has been trying to play that down by taking roles that seem to want to squelch any evidence that he is a beautiful person.
Jodie Foster turns in another great performance in a hollow role along with Forest Whittaker and Dwight Yoakam who both play 2 of the three intruders. Again, like Ms. Foster, Yoakam and Whittaker do the best they can with very one dimensional roles. A woman who has seemingly lost everything doesn't have much more to loose does she? The terror can be seen ten miles away as the house scary from the get go.
There's not much more to say about this film. What hurts the most is that I love Fincher, I have been followng his career for years now and to see shoddy work like this really is a letdown. I'm not sure what he saw in this script. Even the look of the film is typical Fincher, dark greens and browns and camera movements and tricks taken directly from elements of the far superior film, Fight Club. Darius Khondji is Fincher's DP on this film and has been for most of FIncher's films and it's so evident. That's not a bad thing but, it's like, "Okay Fincher, we know your style, now do what you do best and show us something different and askew."
I am the kind of person that wants to like every film I see but I did not like this film, it was not successful. I hung around outside in the hallways of the theater waiting for my friend to finish his questionaire forum and Mr. Fincher was out there with a couple of people. I made a distinct effort to lock eyes with him and I am sure if he saw a 2wenty-something dude with a fifty-esque shirt on with white strips of embroidery down each side staring at him ever so often he would for sure know who I was.
I saw him as he discussed spending 25,000 more on another aspect of the film while one of his brown-nosing friends went on about how amazing the film was. Still though there is this nagging in me that wants to like the film, that maybe, just maybe before the formal release there will be enough changes made to say, "It's a decent film." I dunno though. There's always hope.
Last but not least I will mention the final scene in the film, and this is my only spoiler. After the climax is over and breathing has returned to normal we find Jody Foster sitting with her daughter and the camera is panning back and back and low and behold the World Trade Centers are standing erect and beautiful. It was a disturbing and tasteles contrived thing to do, clearly to get a reaction from the audience. As someone who is close with others who lost friends in the horrible disaster I was creeped out and offended. The fact that this story was about a terrible incident that happens in New York also did not sit well with me either.
You can call me Chamberlain, and that's my report.
Here's someone that is clarifying the charge that Chamberlain just made...
Harry,
I was at the screening last night in La Canada. Your second reviewer is dead wrong about the World Trade Center shot at the end. I thought it was at first, but then realized from Central Park you could not (have) seen the towers. It was one building that from first glance kinda looked like both towers. (It actually looked like the WTC with a third tower superimposed in the center.) But, it's all mute. From Central Park the view is not even an issue.
Call me ... Fansom
