'Panic Room'. Is set in a colossal old 'brownstone' semi in New York.
It looks big enough to garrison a regiment, yet an embittered mother and her daughter, mean to live in it all by themselves. It's expensive, but their husband/father - who has apparently run-off with some air-head - is apparently rich enough to foot the bill. In short; it's financial revenge. On the master-bedroom floor is the titular panic-room. It's a mini-fortress, almost impregnable by conventional means and self-sufficient.
On their first night, three hoods turn-up to burgle. Unbeknown to mother and daughter, there's a floor-safe in the panic room. It contains what the villains are after.
Mother and daughter flee inside before the villains can catch them. A siege ensues.
For the most part, I found this a very tense, well-acted piece of drama. It definitely had its moments. Jodi Foster was good as the over-protective mother, Kristen Stewart was adequate as the rebellious daughter. The villains did their villain thing.
I was a little nonplussed by the curious lack of colour throughout. It might well have been filmed in black & white. Perhaps it was meant to lend some noirish element; for me it was just inexplicably gloomy.
I also enjoyed the fluid nature of the relationship dynamics. The nominal leader who ultimately goes to pieces and gets shot by the hard-man in a ski-mask. Later, after trapping his hand in the panic-room door, he himself is unmasked, gunless, a whimpering impotent. The 'expert' knows the criminal consequences of harming anyone whilst committing the robbery and means to avoid bloodshed at all costs. He, of course, has the most to lose. The police will soon realise that inside knowledge was needed. It can only be a matter of time before enquiries lead to him. He must be long gone without trace, almost proof positive of guilt. Yet he could never bluff it out because the mother and daughter would recognise him.
I rather liked the ending, where an overhead helicopter whips all of the multi-million-dollar bearer-bonds into the air.
There were a number of irritating little details, but by and large I overlooked these because the rest of the movie was sufficiently worthy.
It looks big enough to garrison a regiment, yet an embittered mother and her daughter, mean to live in it all by themselves. It's expensive, but their husband/father - who has apparently run-off with some air-head - is apparently rich enough to foot the bill. In short; it's financial revenge. On the master-bedroom floor is the titular panic-room. It's a mini-fortress, almost impregnable by conventional means and self-sufficient.
On their first night, three hoods turn-up to burgle. Unbeknown to mother and daughter, there's a floor-safe in the panic room. It contains what the villains are after.
Mother and daughter flee inside before the villains can catch them. A siege ensues.
For the most part, I found this a very tense, well-acted piece of drama. It definitely had its moments. Jodi Foster was good as the over-protective mother, Kristen Stewart was adequate as the rebellious daughter. The villains did their villain thing.
I was a little nonplussed by the curious lack of colour throughout. It might well have been filmed in black & white. Perhaps it was meant to lend some noirish element; for me it was just inexplicably gloomy.
I also enjoyed the fluid nature of the relationship dynamics. The nominal leader who ultimately goes to pieces and gets shot by the hard-man in a ski-mask. Later, after trapping his hand in the panic-room door, he himself is unmasked, gunless, a whimpering impotent. The 'expert' knows the criminal consequences of harming anyone whilst committing the robbery and means to avoid bloodshed at all costs. He, of course, has the most to lose. The police will soon realise that inside knowledge was needed. It can only be a matter of time before enquiries lead to him. He must be long gone without trace, almost proof positive of guilt. Yet he could never bluff it out because the mother and daughter would recognise him.
I rather liked the ending, where an overhead helicopter whips all of the multi-million-dollar bearer-bonds into the air.
There were a number of irritating little details, but by and large I overlooked these because the rest of the movie was sufficiently worthy.