In many ways, Lakeview Terrance from 2008 is a dumb film. My uncle bashed it like no tomorrow. So did probably a lot of other people. Samuel Jackson can be easily questioned as to why he put himself in this movie and there appears to no market for a film like this. In spite of these issues, I liked this movie.
Interracial couple Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) move into an upscale neighborhood next to cop Abel (Jackson). Abel is a cop who is mean to his neighbors for no reason and takes any opportunity to be disagreeable. He also isn't so nice to his kids and won't really let them do anything. Abel is a cop who makes us look at police officers differently.
I think the cast does a fine job in this movie. New actor Patrick Wilson is really good and shows for one of the first times in his career what a great actor he is. Kerry Washington who will probably always be the in the little films with a small fan following, is also good. The kids played by Jaishon Fisher and Regine Nehy are ok for the child actors that they are. Samuel Jackson is a character who dominates every scene he is in and he drives this film. He is very uneasy to watch but also does some ordinary things you might not expect. It really is quite daring for director Neil LaBute to cast Samuel Jackson this way.
Along with rather different Jackson character, the whole film has a lot of different stuff and the main idea is a fresh and original one. This movie does tackle the black and white racial issue, and how a cop could be the opposite from what he is supposed to be. California is the setting for this movie and this seems to add more drama and suspense to the story. That said, there are many holes and unrealistic parts to this movie.
This is a very strange film that has been forgotten and really has no following but in spite of it's flaws, I liked it.
3.5/5
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