Panic Room (2002) – 5/5

Fincher’s finest

Okay, the high rating I have for this title is pretty much self-explanatory and I do not give out 10s very often at all. The film runs for 110 minutes and was directed by David Fincher who has directed some other classics in the past and the screenplay is by David Koepp who has been part of some really big franchises. I think I do not need to get a lot into detail about these two. Check their bodies of work if you care. But the cast surely deserves a few words: Jodie Foster was already a two-time Oscar winner when she played the lead in this film. Kristen Stewart was not new to the industry, but this was kinda the first time she really made an impact. Forest Whitaker went on to win an Oscar not much later and he is just such a likable actor. Jared Leto also won an Oscar later on and he is not the only actor-musician in here. Dwight Yoakam I am not too familiar with except the name, but he played his part well and was quite scary, regardless if with or without the mask. But also those cast members in smaller roles like Schulze and Bauchau did a lot with what they were given. For the former, the moment he suggests she should give him a sign if she cannot talk was great. Bauchau certainly didn’t have a lot to work with. I must also mention Ian Buchanan. I think I remembered him from Columbo, but he has great recognition value, even if he is only part of very beginning. This was a great prologue by the way to the movie. I could not think of a better way in which they could have introduced us to the house and the panic room in particular.

As for the panic room, I also liked that they did not fall for some obvious choices. Like the mother and daughter could have somehow found the safe as well, what the gangsters were after. Or Foster’s character’s claustrophobia that we find about very early on does not become a big factor. Then again, they had to depict her as the strong female character and it would have hurt that perception of course. She took care of everything while her ex-husband sat there on a chair bleeding and basically being good for nothing. All he did was call the police which was not a bad decision by definition, but still caused further trouble to Foster’s character when it came to saving her daughter’s life. He even further endangers her when he is not ready to put down the gun. Overall, I watched this film for the first time several years ago, not right after the release, but at some point in the 2010s I think. I loved the film back then and I loved it last night too when I had the chance to see it on the occasion of a horror film special here in my city. Definitely glad I went. Not too many really think about this film when talking about Fincher with all he did before and after 2002, but I know I do. You can also see his great directorial talent on several occasions, like for example when the stairs are involved and the camera moves up and down said stairs so quickly. I already liked the camera work a lot in this opening sequence. It was also nice to see how Stewart played a bit of a rebel girl there, the kind she has pretty much stayed by now. Also scored her first Oscar nomination pretty recently. She had other good scenes here and most involved Foster’s character too. Like when they talk about her father at the table. Or when she takes the syringes, but fails in taking out Yoakam’s character which also felt realistic. Or when she is there on her own in the panic room with the bad guys. Well, can Whitaker’s character even be described as a bad guy? He is part of the crime for sure, but he saves the daughter’s life, a little later the mother’s life as well. He is caught, but could very well be that the two females will help him in court that he does not have to face the harshest sentence. The other two bad guys did not make it out alive.

There is a touch of Home Alone now that I think of it. Pesci is even mentioned once. But I shall get to that later. Now, let’s look at the villains: Junior’s death is one that came a bit out of nowhere, but also a pretty graphic scene, so no film for the very young ones. Same about Yoakam’s character’s hand in the end and also how he dies. Raoul was a man in it with his bruteness a bit for the laughs here and there too like when being asked „Who are you“ in disbelief over what he did, he answers „I’m Raoul“. Tarantinoesque. This man clearly loves the element of mystery that surrounds him. As with Leto’s character, he is loud, boastful and arrogant. And provides some comedy this way, like when Whitaker’s character asks him what he did with the phone connection, of course we knew just like everybody else that he screwed up once again. Like he has from the start basically. I mentioned Pesci earlier and this film also has some nice references to other projects. The Pesci quote was more about Goodfellas than about Home Alone. One character is called MacGyver, another Zorro. So film nerds will also have fun here. I am generally not too big on technical aspects and gadgets, but the entire panic room concept really won me over from the very start. Also everything that followed, how they tried to get attention from the sleeping neighbor, how they got rid of the gas and attacked the criminals that way, how Foster’s character managed to make a call out of the panic room, but also how she did not register the phone line inside the booth was memorable, even if only briefly mentioned. Had she, this would have been over from the start basically. Good for us viewers she was forgetful once. But it s not just the action that will keep you really interested here. It is also the dialogues. Look at the aforementioned scene with the cop outside and how Foster’s character there humiliates herself to make sure they leave was great writing and great acting. I am really having a hard time here to find any flaws with this film. I saw others call it a popcorn flick, but I would not agree. It has great depth and is so exciting that it will fly by oh so quickly. Maybe Whitaker’s character was a bit too kind overall, but as I love the actor (like I stated before), I am not gonna complain either.

Also kinda difficult for me to mention a favorite scene or moment here. One of my favorites was definitely when the two realize the guys stopped paying attention and Foster’s character runs out of the room to get her mobile phone. How she manages to get back right on time before they grab her. But the elevator scene was also a highlight already, just like the moment when Foster’s character sees the bad guys for the first time on camera. This is a film that has a small cast and also does not need more to succeed brilliantly. For a couple reasons, it is difficult to turn this film into a stage play. I definitely would have watch that too if they ever try. Whitaker does not only play a gentleman criminal, but he is also utterly competent. Guy has all the in-depth technical background knowledge and is not a fool who blindly wants to smash a steel layer. He knows what he is doing and when it does not work out, it only has to do with his colleagues‘ incompetence and/or with Foster’s character’s resilience. And Stewart’s too of course. The two make for a nice team, that much is safe. Fittingly, they also get the very final scene outside in the sun again when we see them look for their next home afterwards. Let’s hope they will not have to make any emergency calls from there. Oh wait, is that really Nicole Kidman whose voice we hear on the phone? Seems that way. She scored her first Oscar nomination back when this came out and won immediately afterwards, which means we have four Oscar winners in the cast here, five wins in total or even more if Stewart or one of the others can gain trophies in the future. Incredible number given the small cast really. Let’s not even talk about nominations. Foster has not been a factor for a while now, but she won a Golden Globe at least.

This film is actually having its 20th anniversary these days and this was one reason why it got shown again too I guess. It is probably more of a crime thriller than actual horror to be honest. But the one thing where there is no denying is how much of a brilliant film it is. It could not have worked out any better really. It went by so quickly all in all and you are just drawn in by the plot and action literally from the very start. It will also make you smile on many occasions, no matter if it is Stewart’s character calling dibs on the panic room as her room or if it is Raoul wondering why they did not smash the cameras themselves. In retrospective, it was maybe a bit of a bizarre turn of events when she is outside the panic room then and the bad guys are inside. Only Stewart’s character stays where she was. The twist with the money hidden inside the panic room was good too. How we are led to believe that it was maybe all for nothing and there is no money, but then they find the priceless documents and it was all worth it basically and the amount is gigantic, much more than Leto’s character said it was. Of course, he is also foolish enough to give it away that he lied to them. So yeah, as I said earlier the film also delivers in terms of quotes and dialogues, no matter if we hear Foster’s character talk to the bad guys via microphone or if we find out that Whitaker’s character had to be a part of this because he is in dept probably and not that he really had a choice. He needs the money, the others want it. Or when he says near the end that he would have loved such a big house for his daughter too. And Foster’s character proves to us that they are not just helpless rich people with how she defends herself and her daughter. Also that apparently she really loved her man before he cheated on her. Stewart’s character also made sure we like Whitaker even more here when she yells that her dad should not shoot him. I could go on and on. There are so many moments that really feel memorable and I think this is indeed a film to watch many times.