Panic Room (2002)

Panic Room (2002)

8/10

Starring

Jodie Foster

Forest Whitaker

Dwight Yoakam

Jared Leto

Kristen Stewart

Directed by David Fincher

Panic Room is a masterpiece. A movie that just ticks all the right boxes and holds your gaze. The fun in the movie comes from all the different characters in it. All their different ways of seeing life, all of it in one house, where they face a life-or-death situation. I saw it when it was released back in 2002, and seeing it again eighteen years later and still being sucked in shows how magnificently the movie was crafted.

The main actors in this movie (Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker) had a dynamic relationship that makes you sit up all through the viewing. If you have not seen this movie before, you’re left wondering how it will end when they both finally stand face-to-face.

The movie plot is simple: a single mother, Meg (Jodie Foster), buys a home where she and her diabetic daughter are going to live. The house's previous owner installed a panic room to protect the occupants from intruders. The entire home has a next-level surveillance camera system, all wired into the panic room.

On the night the two move into the house, burglars break in. They seem to know their way around the place and want to get into the panic room. It so happens that, out of fear, Meg and her daughter run into the panic room, hoping the burglars will get what they want and leave.

Then we have a stand-off. The panic room is equipped with a PA system, so now the burglars and Meg are in discussion. Meg wants the intruders gone, and the intruders want Meg gone.

The movie was a critical and commercial success. Panic Room is one of the first films in the turn of the century to have video surveillance as the key element in the film's development. The movie is also one of the feminist movement female-empowerment movies, where the lead is not equipped with special skills but just determination. She has her life and her daughter’s to think of, and survival is the only option when faced with men who are stronger and bigger.

Here, we have women handling things on their own without the need for a man around the house. Although, you could argue a little problem in the story: why would a single mother need such a big house?

Director David Fincher took on this project after Fight Club (1999). He and the writer (David Koepp) were able to use this movie to bring to light the question, "What happens when your fears come to life?" Hey, they have a panic room in case of a home invasion, and then there’s a home invasion.

The panic room represents the idea of control. It has eyes everywhere, giving the people in it some form of control over that tiny aspect of their existence. In reality, you do not have total control over what happens to you—just a tiny aspect of control. But there’s safety in knowing that at least there are aspects of your life you can control.

The film’s pacing is pretty tense overall, but it can drag a bit in some parts, especially during the quieter, slower moments.

This is a movie I will always remember fondly and am looking forward to seeing again.