“If
you live next door to a police officer
you feel safe, right? Wrong — not if
you
live on Lakeview Terrace and the
cop
you live next door to happens to be
obsessive LAPD officer Abel Turner...”
HE IS A STRICT FATHER TO HIS CHILDREN, prays to his God, is a police
officer with the Los Angeles Police Department and a self-appointed neighbourhood
watchman who isn't averse to meting out harsh lessons to criminals. But
widowed Abel Turner (Samuel L Jackson: Freedomland, Pulp Fiction) strongly
disapproves of interracial relationships and harbours a life-changing secret.
Unfortunately for new neighbours Chris Mattson (Patrick Wilson: Watchmen)
and his black wife Lisa (Kerry Washington: The Last King Of Scotland),
Turner's views are unshakable and he begins a terrifying vendetta against them
that threatens to escalate as much out of control as the raging forest fires
that are creeping ever closer to Lakeview Terrace.
Chris and Lisa have moved to California, believing they have found their dream
home. But it is rapidly turning into a living nightmare with the neighbour from
hell who will not tolerate their relationship.
At first they refuse to be intimidated, but having suffered gross invasions
of their privacy, harassment and barely-concealed derisory comments, the Mattson's
relationship is strained and Lisa believes that Turner is not alone in his condemnation
of their union. When Chris tells Turner he likes rap music, Turner calmly responds:
"You can listen to that music all night long but when you wake up in the morning
you'll still be white."
Chris decides to strike back — but it is when Turner is on the receiving
end of the Mattson's retaliation that the gloves come off and more than their
home is at risk. Turner involves unpleasant crack dealer Clarence Darlington
(Keith Loneker) and now there can only be one way to end the vendetta once and
for all.
Hollywood heavyweight Samuel L Jackson is perfect as the menacing Abel Turner,
bringing to the role a brooding and bitter man who has very set ideas and values
but who steps over the line. Although he instils the importance of respect into
his children — 15-year-old Celia (Regine Nehy) and her younger brother
Marcus (Jaishon Fisher) — and appears to be a pillar of the community,
there is clearly something very wrong.
Underneath the professional veneer that has earned Turner the respect of his
police partner Javier Villareal (Jay Hernandez: Quantantine, Hostel),
lies a loose cannon. While the fires rage out of control, Turner burns with
the same ferocity and relentlessly pushes the newlyweds to the limit —
and nothing is sacrosanct.
Can the Mattson's marriage survive as Chris's anger boils over and Lisa is powerless
to stop him confronting Turner? Will it all end in tragedy? An edgy, intelligent
and provocative thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, Lakeview
Terrace explores the social boundaries of real life.
Set in a lovely area of California — in and around the City of Walnut —
Lakeview Terrace features a talented and credible cast. With Samuel L
Jackson at his sinister best playing the obsessive cop going over to the dark
side, the Mattsons — a delightful couple with the world at their feet —
cannot help but feel terrorised in this tense and well-paced thriller that develops
superbly.
Directed by acclaimed writer/director Neil Labute (The Wicker Man, In The
Company Of Men), Lakeview Terrace also features: Ron Glass as Harold
Perrau, Justin Chambers as Donnie Eaton, Robert Pine as Captain Wentworth, Caleeb
Pinkett as Damon Richards, Robert Dahey as Jung Lee Pak, Ho-Jung as Sang Hee
Pak, Lynn Chen as Eden, Vanessa Bell Calloway as Aunt Dorrie and the lovely
Cocoa Brown as the Bartender — what a shame her role wasn't larger.
Lakeview Terrace's beautiful music is by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna;
Editor is Joel Plotch; Director of Photography is Rogier Stoffers, nsc; the
film is Produced by James Lassiter and Will Smith; The Story is by David Loughery;
and the Screenplay is by David Loughery and Howard Korder.
• Lakeview Terrace is released on DVD,
Blu-ray and UMDTM Video on 30 March (2009), courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Special Features
Commentary with Director Neil Labute and Kerry Washington | Deleted Scenes |
Welcome to Lakeview Terrace: Behind The Scenes Featurettes | Trailers.
"Lakeview Terrace… A tense and well-paced thriller that develops superbly...
with Samuel L Jackson at his sinister best playing the obsessive cop going over
to the dark side" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar
“If
you live next door to a police officer