Lakeview Terrace

For the Los Angeles neighborhood, see Lake View Terrace, Los Angeles, California.

Lakeview Terrace
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Neil LaBute
Written by	David Loughery Howard Korder
Produced by	Jeffrey Graup James Lassiter David Loughery Will Smith
Starring	Samuel L. Jackson Patrick Wilson Kerry Washington
Production company	Overbrook Entertainment
Distributed by	Screen Gems
Release date	September 19, 2008 (2008-09-19)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$44,653,637

Lakeview Terrace (aka The Pussy/Prick Movie) is a 2008 thriller film directed by Neil LaBute, produced by Will Smith, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington. Jackson plays a psychotic twenty-eight year veteran of the LAPD who terrorizes his new next-door neighbors because they are an interracially married couple. The film was released on September 19, 2008.

Plot

The movie opens on a family breakfast in a luxurious suburban home in Southern California, two African American children with their single father, Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson). He scolds his pre-adolescent son, Marcus (Jaishon Fisher), over his choice of basketball jersey (it has Kobe Bryant's number). He tells his son to take it off, as they had agreed, because he does not approve of Bryant's off-court behavior, says, "We agreed we were going to go with Shaq." His teenage daughter Celia (Regine Nehy) sighs and he tells her that he disapproves of her listening to her iPod at the table, and that she is near the end of "3 strikes" rule, where she has the iPod taken away after three warnings.

As they leave their house to walk to school, they see a car approaching, with the new owners of the house next door (The daughter, Celia, expresses that she hopes they will let them swim in the pool at this home). There is a moving van and a luxury sedan, and in the car is an African American man with a much younger attractive woman, and they pique Abel's interest. He watches them tour the grounds, and sees a younger Caucasian man seeing to the unloading of items from the moving van. Abel does not acknowledge when this man waves to him. Habel assumes the older man and younger woman are married, and the younger Caucasian man is a mover, and he is upset when he sees the young man kiss the woman when the older African American man has his back turned. It turns out that the new homeowners are a married biracial couple, Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington), and the older African American man is Lisa's father (Ron Glass) They are new homeowners, and quite engagingly excited and in love. Abel is a cop; he is seen shaking down an informer in a parking lot. The informer comments on a shift in Abel's attitude and behavior recently; a hostility and new edge to him.

Chris readies to leave for work in the morning, and there is a parking ticket on his windshield, because his fender exceeds the line of the curb; it is a warning, and is signed "AT," for Abel Turner. He is miffed; Lisa says he should not make much of it. Chris returns after work and enjoys a cigarette in his car, while listening to rap or hip-hop music. Abel appears suddenly, motioning Chris to roll down his window. He then frightens Chris, and jokes that no matter the neighborhood, it is dangerous to lower the window even when motioned to do so by a stranger outside. He chides Chris for smoking, even though it is not illegal ("Not yet," Abel says), and jokes that even he listens to hip-hop all night, "when you wake up in the morning, you'll still be white."

The following nignt, Chris and Lisa have sex in their swimming pool. Unbeknownst to them, Abel's children are watching. Abel arrives home to see this spectacle, and is upset. He has home security floodlights, and they shine into Chris and Lisa's window, keeping them awake and irritating them, clearly meant to be payback for their carelessness. He leaves them on every night, and Chris resolves to discuss with Abel.

When Chris has the opportunity to discuss, at the end of a jog one morning, Abel claims that it is to prevent crime, and Chris does not get what he needs. Chris helps Abel while he works under the hood of his car, and it results in a finger injury when the hood moves suddenly. It is uncertain whether Abel is intentionally antagonizing Chris or not.

Abel's children play in their yard, and a ball goes into Chris and Lisa's yard. Lisa works from home, and when they come over to retrieve their ball, Lisa strikes up a friendship with the kids, and asks them to bring their father over for a housewarming party they are having.

The flood light problems continue. Lisa says she will talk to Abel. She thinks she understands this African American man, and that Chris has issues, that they may even be related to his difficulties with Lisa's father, and a tendency to project this onto Abel. Chris goes to Abel's house instead though, to ask him to keep his flood lights off, and Abel says he had meant to do so, but has been busy; he claims it involves doing recircuitry of the whole house. Abel takes Chris on his "neighborhood rounds," where he checks on the safety of the neighborhood. He at long last confronts Chris over his lovemaking being visible to his children, and asks Chris that he considers if his lifestyle and behavior are appropriate to this neighborhood, implying that he wants them to move away.

Chris and Lisa have dinner with Lisa's father, who tells them they could choose to move away, if they wish, because acrimony with an LA police officer may mean trouble for them. Chris tells Lisa's father that he does not discuss issues with Chris, and acts as if Chris is not there, and does not like him. Lisa's father then pointedly says that he wonders if the young couple will have children, and if they do, whether Chris will know how to protect them.

Abel arrives to the housewarming party by himself. He is garrulous but has an edge, and criticizes Chris and his friends for their liberal tendencies, on things from the environment to police brutality. As he leaves, Chris tells Abel that he is taking offense to him, but does not plan to move.

One evening, they hear noises downstairs, and find the tires of Chris' car slashed. They suspect Abel. They call the police to come, and the police do little.

Abel and his partner Javier Villareal (Jay Hernandez) burst in on a domestic incident, and Abel chases the armed African American perpetrator Damon Richards (Caleeb Pinkett) into an alley by himself. He disarms the man effectively, but then lectures and beats the man for not taking care of his family.

When he returns home, he sees his children off. They are to spend time with an aunt.

Chris now buys his own floodlights, and shines them into Abel's bedroom, as a way of taking matters into his own hands.

Lisa soon reveals that she is pregnant. This brings a rift into their marriage. Chris does not want to have children yet. Lisa skipped birth control pills to force the issue. She thinks Chris is being shortsighted, and chooses to force the issue. He leaves for work angry.

Abel is confronted at work by Lt. Bronson (Michael Landon) and Lt. Morgda (Eva La Rue) of Internal Affairs Department, for his over-board treatment of Damon Richards and told by Captain Wentworth (Robert Pine) to go out on leave. Abel sees his police co-workers outside, discussing a bachelor party for Officer Davis that evening. Abel tells them to have it at his house, since his children are away.

The bachelor party is very rowdy. There is loud music, alcohol and strippers, and many partying cops. It is keeping Lisa and Chris up all night, and Chris goes over to tell them to stop. They harass him mildly, try to give him drinks, but then pin him, and have a stripper simulate fallacio. He leaves humiliated.

Chris goes to a local bar, and as he finishes his drink, Abel enters, and buys Chris a drink. He tells Chris that he lost his own wife, when a car hit her on a highway, and she was seen as a low priority at the treating Emergency Room. Chris expresses cursory sympathy, says Abel cannot know whether this was true at the emergency room, and leaves. Abel makes a last cryptic comment about his wife, wondering what she was doing out in that area, at that time, when she was supposed to be working (implying she may have been unfaithful to him).

Abel leaves a video of Chris with the stripper in their mailbox the next day for Lisa to see, and she angrily looks Abel's way knowing it is his doing.

Wildfires rage in the hills surrounding the community. The neighbors are holed up in a home down the hill, waiting to see how fire officials will instruct them. Lisa goes home, and Abel's informant Clarence Darlington (Keith Loneker) is there trashing the home. It is at Abel's direction. Lisa surprises him, and it leads to her falling and the possibility of harm to the pregnancy. Chris races home when he hears his burglar alarm go off. A frustrated Abel goes with him, realizing that the criminal he sent did not leave undetected. Chris rushes to the injured Lisa, and Abel comes upon the criminal, who stands helplessly as Abel shoots him three times in the chest.

Lisa is in the hospital. She is uninjured, and the pregnancy is alright. Chris and Lisa return home. The wildfires are not contained and they are instructed to pack a few things and leave their home. Abel watches from his home nearby. He is hosing off his roof, and does not want to leave. Chris thanks Abel for helping him, tries to express a sense of community with Abel. When Chris and Lisa finally leave, Abel enters their home, hoping to retrieve Clarence's cell phone, where he is afraid his call to the perpetrator can be traced, implicating him in the break-in and murder. He does not find it, and Lisa and Chris unexpectedly return. Chris discovers the cell phone ringing in a bag under their bed, and picks it up. He dials the last number logged on the phone, and Abel picks up his phone, Chris hearing his voice, and realizing Abel is responsible for the break-in. Abel tries to convince him that the perpetrator was a police enemy, and was trying to set Abel up, but Chris throws the gun to Lisa, and tells her to race away and get the phone to the police. Abel shoots a hole in Lisa's car, and Chris tries to beat him, eventually leading to a standoff with Chris holding Abel's dropped gun, Abel now holding a second gun that he keeps in leg holster.

The police arrive, and Abel tries to convince them to shoot Chris when he doesn't drop his weapon. Chris finally throws Abel off, by asking if his distractions are related to his wife's death and how he was not able to recognize that she had become unfaithful to him. Abel fires on Chris, but is gunned down by the police officers. Chris is in the ambulance and has a gunshot wound to the chest, but he is OK. He and Lisa talk about their pride in their home, neighborhood, and soon to be family.

Cast

• Patrick Wilson as Chris Mattson
• Samuel L. Jackson as Abel Turner
• Kerry Washington as Lisa Mattson
• Jaishon Fisher as Marcus Turner
• Regine Nehy as Celia Turner
• Jay Hernandez as Javier Villareal
• Keith Loneker as Clarence Darlington
• Ron Glass as Harold Perreau
• Caleeb Pinkett as Damon Richards
• Justin Chambers as Donnie Eaton
• Juan Diaz as Steele
• Lynn Chen as Eden

Filming locations

The majority of the movie was filmed in Walnut, California on N Deer Creek Dr. Film production can be viewed on Google's Street View. The scene when Able Turner (AT) comes out of the police station to talk to his partner and other police officers, was filmed in Hawthorne, California on the corner of Grevillea Ave. & 126th St.

Reception

Critical reaction to Lakeview Terrace has been mixed. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 48% of critics gave positive reviews based on 147 reviews. On Metacritic, critics gave a 46% approval rating based on 28 reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a very positive review, awarding it his highest rating of four stars (out of four) and saying: "Some will find it exciting. Some will find it an opportunity for an examination of conscience. Some will leave feeling vaguely uneasy. Some won't like it and will be absolutely sure why they don't, but their reasons will not agree. Some will hate elements that others can't even see. Some will only see a thriller. I find movies like this alive and provoking, and I'm exhilarated to have my thinking challenged at every step of the way."

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle also enjoyed the film, saying: "In its overall shape and message, Lakeview Terrace is a conventional suspense thriller, but the details kick it up a notch. ... The fun of Lakeview Terrace is not in what happens but in how it happens." J.R. Jones of the Chicago Reader called the film "one of the toughest racial dramas to come out of Hollywood since the fires died down—much tougher, for instance, than Paul Haggis's hand-wringing Oscar winner Crash."

Dennis Harvey of Variety said that Lakeview Terrace "delivers fairly tense and engrossing drama" but "succumb[s] to thriller convention." Anthony Lane of The New Yorker said that "the first hour of the film ... feels dangerous, necessary, and rife with comic disturbance," but added that "the later stages ... overheat and spill into silliness." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two stars out of four, saying that "the first two-thirds of Lakeview Terrace offer a little more subtlety and complexity than the seemingly straightforward premise would afford, but the climax is loud, dumb, generic, and over-the-top."

Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe said that "the movie might have something to say about black racism, but the conversations go nowhere, and the clichés of the genre take over." Sura Wood of The Hollywood Reporter said: "[The idea of] a black actor cast as the virulent bigot, with the object of his campaign of harassment the young interracial couple who move in next door, could be viewed as a novel twist. But the film, absent a sense of place and populated by repellent or weak characters, soon devolves into an increasingly foul litany of events." Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal gave it one half of a star out of five, and called the film a "joyless and airless suspense thriller."

On its opening weekend, the film grossed $15 million placing it at number one in the United States. The film grossed $39.2 million in the United States and Canada and $3.2 million in other territories, making $42.4 million worldwide.

DVD Sales

Lakeview Terrace was released on January 27, 2009 and sold 1,194,420 units. It raised $20,119,729, slightly more than the film's budget.

External links

• Official website
• Lakeview Terrace at IMDb
• Lakeview Terrace at AllMovie
• Lakeview Terrace at Rotten Tomatoes
• Lakeview Terrace at Box Office Mojo
• Lakeview Terrace debuts in top spot at box office CNN