FBMR - Panic Room
Film-Buff Movie Reviews


THE PANIC ROOM (2002) ***

My favourite part of this film was the use of the camera. David Fincher, director of SE7EN and FIGHT CLUB, is quickly gaining auteur status with his dark lighting and mood, and innovative vision. There were some really cool shots in this film. I was sitting there and gasping at how cool they were.

Newly separated Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) moves into a huge new house with an incredible security system with her daughter, down the street from her husband. During their first night, the house is broken into by a group of thieves (how about that?). Meg quickly collects her daughter and they lock themselves into the secret “panic room” where they can observe the intruders. The thieves, played Jared Leto, Forest Whitaker, and Dwight Yoakam, are not phased and continue their occupation of the house.

The acting was quite good, the stand-outs being Whitaker and Yoakam. The pace of the film was a little slower than I anticipated but it was still quite cool. However, for a movie that basically takes place in one house where the Jodie Foster’s character and her daughter have locked themselves in one room, I didn’t get a claustrophobic feeling that would have given the film another dimension. I think they tried, but it didn’t affect me, and I’m borderline claustrophobic myself. There were some quite suspenseful scenes, but it tended to drag in places. Also, sound engineer John Klepko has worked wonders with the soundtrack.

IMDb- Panic Room