Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Member since:11.07.2000
Reviews:625
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There's nothing like a good thriller and I could say that Disturbia is nothing like a good thriller. But surprisingly I won't as this sleeper hit of last year actually hit's more high notes than flats.
Amusingly named teenager Kale Brecht (Shia Lebeouf) has gone a bit off the rails since the death of his father in a road accident a year earlier. When he punches a teacher in class he finds himself consigned to house arrest in a bid to make him see sense. Leaving a teenager at home by himself isn't great punishment and Kale spends his time on Xbox, TV and developing an interest of watching what's going on in the neighbourhood around him.
When a good looking girl moves in next door, Kale get's the binoculars out more as she likes to frolic around in a bikini. The little perv soon attracts her attention and she joins his spying.
But when they notice that one neighbour's activities tie into the disappearance of a woman they soon turn their attentions to his nocturnal habits. Could he just be a innocent man or are they living next door to a serial killer who won't take kindly to kids snooping around.
Disturbia works because it's pretty tightly paced and features only a handful of characters. I suppose you could call it an update on Rear Window with one man confined to one place while danger unfolds in front of his eyes. The acting is pretty good, Lebeouf is probably the best of the bunch at the moment and manages to tread the line between being annoying and amusing on the right side. David Morse as the neighbour is one of those actors who comes across as trustworthy but can also be a real nasty piece of work. It's also nice to see The Matrix's Carrie Anne Moss as the mum, I have to be honest and say I didn't recognize her at first.
Director DJ Caruso has made some decent films before which haven't received a lot of attention but his background in TV crime drama comes to the fore with some great staging of action. The final act is a good mix of scares, suspense and action.
I think the reason people went to see it is that it's just well made and just because it's a film with teenagers, it doesn't pander to the teen genre and throw in a bunch of MOR American rock tracks and cheesy moments. In my opinion it's actually old-fashioned filmmaking at heart.
- The DVD -
I watched the film on HD-DVD and the transfer has a strong sharp look. It's not a film for lush cinematography but this is a decent representation of the format but not reference quality.
The soundtrack is actually livelier than you'd think. In the final act there are some good surround sound moments as the tension ramps up. I was pleasantly surprised.
- Extras -
The audio commentary features Director Caruso as well as stars Leboeuf and Sarah Roemer. The track is a lot of fun, not technical but just 90 minutes of jokes, humour and random behind the scenes stories.
The HD-DVD has a pop-up option that will throw trivia up on the screen throughout the film. Personally I find these kinds of features redundant.
The making of is around 14-minutes and does a good job of givig a small insight into what went into the production from the idea through to casting and stunts.
There a small bunch of deleted scenes, nothing special. Most just add a little more flesh to characters such as Carrie Anne Moss'.
Rounding out the disc is an MOR rock video for the film from This World Fair. Yes I've never heard of them either.
There's also a photo gallery as well as trailer.
- Finally-
I enjoyed Disturbia much more than I thought I would. It tells a simple story well and sometimes that's all you ask for in a film.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
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