Enter the ‘Panic Room’

“Panic Room” has a very strong weapon in its arsenal, realism. Not once does anyone in the movie do anything that a reasonable person wouldn’t do, and that plus makes “Panic Room” one of the few must-sees of the year.

Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) has recently divorced, and is looking for a new home for herself and her daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) and she finds it in a large mansion previously owned by a rich old man.

However, this house has the unique oddity of a “panic room,” designed to protect the residents from home invasion. It’s equipped with emergency rations, a private phone line, and live camera feed from every room in the house. The price is reasonable, so Meg purchases the house and moves in.

That night, while everyone is asleep, three bickering hoodlums break into the house, the hyperactive Junior (Jared Leto), the trigger-happy Raoul (Dwight Yoakam), and the reluctant Burnham (Forest Whitaker). Meg is quick to wake up to the commotion, and runs into the panic room with Sarah before the intruders get to them. The phone line is not installed, but the reinforced steel walls make it impossible for anyone to break through. Meg decides that the best course of action is to wait for them to take what they want and leave. The only problem is, what the crooks want is in the panic room itself…

There’s one thing that can be said for director David Fincher (“Seven,” “Fight Club”); the man knows what he’s doing.

He set out to make a taut, exciting thriller that keeps the audience on the edge of its seat, and he succeeded in making one of the best films that has recently played at the cinema. It’s astounding how the film can switch between being a psychological and an action thriller and be just as effective either way. This is a director’s movie, with every camera angle perfectly adjusted to the mood of the scene.

Jodie Foster gives one of the most credible portrayals of someone caught in her character’s circumstances, with an aggressive yet sensitive approach. Leto, Yoakam and Whitaker are the villains of the film, but they function more as foils to each other with clashing personalities, and it serves to increase the tension.

“Panic Room” is a film that lies in waiting to keep the suspense high, and then mercilessly attacks the audience with potent thrills. It creates a sense of panic worthy of the title.