Whenever I review a film I will always have the IMDB page open for reference. Today I got a little curious and decided to have a deeper look and went to David Fincher's specific IMDB page. To my surprise this man has 93 directing credits. That is an insane amount. What is even more surprising is the fact that only 11 of these are feature length films, the rest are tv episodes, shorts or music videos. Now, I can't speak for these, but with his feature films he has an incredible record. 'Alien 3' (1992) aside, all his films range from good to superb (at least the ones I have scene) with 'Panic Room' (2002) landing somewhere in the middle of that. This film is one of the most engrossing and entertaining I have seen in a long time. The film follows newly divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) who have just moved into a new house in Manhattan. The previous owner of the house was extremely paranoid and built a panic room into the home. On their first night in the house 3 burglars break in in order to steal $3 million that are kept in a safe in said panic room. To protect themselves Meg and Sarah lock themselves in, but unfortunately they did not have time to wire up the phone that is kept inside and so have no contact with the outside world. It now becomes a game of wits and nerve with the burglars attempting to get in while Meg and Sarah have to work out how they escape.
It is becoming more and more clear the more I watch Fincher how much influence Hitchcock must have had on him as a filmmaker. If Hitchcock is the master of suspense then Fincher is definitely an apprentice of his. This film had me on tenterhooks for almost the entire duration and it was exhilarating. David Koepp's script has to be praised for this in part, but it is the masterful directing of Fincher that really keeps the suspense high. There is one scene in particular which needs particular praise. This is when Meg, knowing the 3 burglars have left the panic room unguarded, escapes to try and get her mobile phone. The film mixes slow motion and a muffled sound superbly in this scene, with the almost silence only being broken when Meg knocks over a lamp. The editing in this scene is masterful, meshing together close ups and using quick cuts to keep the suspension at a peak. It was a heart in mouth moment and I actually found myself almost shouting at the screen when it looked as though the burglars may catch Meg before she could get back into the panic room. There is another moment of direction that I really loved, and this came when the burglars first come to the home. The camera glides around the home in one of those faux one shot sequences following each burglar from the windows to the doors as they attempt to break in. It does use some CGI which looks a little dated, but the effect as a whole is superb and really impressive. This is the most notable sequence in the film but there are several really cool shots and sequences throughout the film which really caught my eye.
The performances in this film are also top notch, and it is no real surprise with the cast in this film. My main concern going in was Kristen Stewart, who played Sarah, for two reasons. Firstly, I know Kristen Stewart has developed into a very decent actor, but she does have an absolute dud in her. And two, child actors are more often than not shit and she was only 12 when this film came out. However, I was very pleasantly surprised as she put in a fantastic performance, managing to capture the fear you would expect from her while also having a composure and wit about her that was believable. All 3 of the burglars are also great, with Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam and Forest Whitaker all putting in great performances. Leto is a lot of fun as Junior, managing to play a dumb and excitable robber fantastically as well as having a dark edge to him. Dwight Yoakam as Raoul is the real villain of the piece and he lays the role expertly. He manages to be both a menacing, faceless villain for the first half of the film, having a composure and cold blooded killer feel to him, but he also is fantastic when he becomes more frantic and mad towards the end of the film .Throughout he is the most terrifying of the three characters. Forest Whitaker has such a presence as Burnham. Despite being one of the burglars he also has no desire to harm Meg or Sarah and he has a constant humanity throughout, while also managing to be menacing when he needs to be. Jodie Foster is always good, and that is no different in this film. She is superb in portraying pure terror and desperation but she is also completely believable as a bad ass when she starts to fight back. All the performances in this film are really superb and all help to create the suspense and excitement that the film does so well.
'Panic Room' continues the tradition of Fincher films that I think are great. It is not quite on the level of 'Fight Club' (1999) or 'Se7en' (1995) but it is on the rung just below these. It is brilliantly directed with superb editing and sound design, as well as some really creative shot choices which are visually interesting. The acting is fantastic across the board, with everyone playing their role fantastically and all having brilliant chemistry with each other to match. All of these aspects, along with the narrative, lead to one of the most suspenseful films I have seen in a long time and one that kept me completely hooked the entire time. It is definitely a recommend from me, as are pretty much all Fincher's films. Before reviewing this film I did not know he had a new film, 'Mank' (2020), coming out this year but know it is one of my most anticipated. Well, that's if we are able to leave the house to watch it.