I remember watching Panic Room along time ago and of recently watched it again, without expecting it to completely blow me away, yet again and I think that worked in its favour, because i had mostly forgotten what had happened. This was a solid thriller that knows exactly what it wants to be and that is pretty much how I would describe Panic Room. Not spectacular but solid and very rewatchable, because in the past three months ive watched it alot more times, sometimes i’d rather re-watch it than watch a new movie or show even. I can’t imagine ever objecting to someone putting it on whatever mood I’m in.
The basic premise is actually pretty straightforward. Meg and her daughter Sarah move into this huge New York house, only to discover that three men have broken in looking for money hidden inside the house. The problem for the burglars is that Meg and Sarah are already inside the one room specifically designed to protect the occupants from exactly this kind of situation, the panic room and simply put that us where the movie get its name, quite self explanatory and from there, the entire movie basically becomes a very tense game of cat and mouse. Most of the movie happens inside and around this house, and somehow David Fincher manages to make those limited surroundings feel much bigger than they actually are. I guess that helped with the budget of the movie.
The panic room itself is obviously the star of the movie. It is supposed to be the safest place in the house, but the movie does a good job of constantly reminding us that being protected does not necessarily mean being completely safe. Meg and Sarah can see what is happening outside, but they can't simply walk out. The people outside can’t get to them, but they know there is something inside the room that they desperately want. That creates this really interesting situation where both sides have something the other wants and I think that is where the movie excels. Their is always this feeling that somebody is about to make one wrong move. Even something as simple as trying to communicate with the outside world or figure out what the burglars are doing becomes part of the tension.
I also really liked the performances. Jodie Foster does a good job as Meg because she isn't presented as some action hero who suddenly becomes an expert fighter. She is just a mother trying to protect her daughter, and a lot of her decisions come from that desperation. Kristen Stewart, being so young here, was also interesting to watch. Im sure most people couldn’t even recognise that she was the one in the film. Seeing her this early in her career is one of those things that makes you realize how long some actors have actually been around and basically almost no one just pops up to stardom just like that, then you also have Forest Whitaker, and his two co star burglars, playing the three men who break into the house. What I particularly liked is that the burglars don't all feel like the same character. They have different motivations and personalities, which makes their interactions more interesting. This movie kinda served like the blueprint for other thriller movies, i belive.
I also think the movie occasionally stretches the limits of what I was willing to accept, especially when it comes to how much punishment some of these characters can take and still keep going. There were moments where I was basically thinking, "Okay, surely this person should be finished by now" but strangely enough, it didn't bother me enough to ruin the experience.
Classic old thrillers are classic for a reason and for me one stand out thing is that they simply trust the audience to follow along and that is probably why I can see myself rewatching the film again and again and again. Even when you know the twists, there is still enjoyment in watching how everything is set up and noticing little things that you might have missed the first time.
Rating: 80/100
