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Matinee Melee: Jackson tense in ‘Terrace’

By: Holly Leber
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By: Casey Phillips
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Casey Phillips: Watching “Lakeview Terrace” is like having your adrenal gland put under thumbscrews for two hours. In a performance that is easily the star of the show, Sam Jackson plays Abel Turner, an Los Angeles cop determined to force the interracial couple next door (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) to pack up and leave at all costs. His over-the-top performance ratchets up the intensity continuously. The resulting pressure builds to point where I felt physically drained by the time the credits rolled.

I found myself gripping my hands convulsively at the sheer abuse of power Turner is putting on display as he does whatever he wants to torment his neighbors, an abuse of the badge in the vein of Denzel Washington in “Training Day.” His tactics range from outing Chris to his wife for smoking on the sly to breaking into their carport and slashing tires to threatening them with a chainsaw (really). Obviously, his harassment is all the bolder because he wears a uniform and can laughingly confront their complaints with lines like, “Wanna call the cops? Here, I’ll tell you who’s on duty.” This is not good PR for the men in blue.

Holly Leber: I don’t think there’s anything that makes me see red more than people who are supposed to be protectors abusing the power they have, so I was pretty much seething throughout the entirety of the film. Jackson’s performance definitely makes the movie.

From the first moment he spots the new couple next door, Abel is dead set against their presence, simply because they’re mixed race. To be noted: Abel Turner does not hate all white men. He seems to enjoy socializing with his fellow cops, of all races. Abel Turner hates white men who are with black women. They are encroaching. And the women are traitors to their race. He doesn’t say this in words, but it’s pretty clear when he shows up at the Mattson’s housewarming with a coffee table book titled “Black,” which he presents to Lisa. The reason behind his bigotry is revealed about three-quarters of the way through the film and frankly, it’s not good enough to seem anything but irrational.

Casey: Irrational is a term that could practically be applied to the entire plot. Turner’s response is so over-the-top and his mental state so questionable that his character is a tough swallow. I can understand having a beef with someone for throwing their cigarette butts on your lawn, but going “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” on their shrubbery or consorting with gangsters to force them to move is beyond outrageous. Turner is like a homeowners association Nazi. There are some attempts to make him more sympathetic, including the aforementioned revelation and some scenes of him serving and “protecting,” but these moments barely shift the balance.

Jackson’s performance may be strong, but it’s so limited and one-dimensional that the plot is basically just an excuse for him to deliver crazy rants and engage in wild-eyed standoffs. As a thriller, “Lakeview” is mostly out to get your blood pumping, and in that sense, it’s certainly effective, but that doesn’t make it good. Jackson shines, but he also totally overshadows Wilson and Washington, both of whom have to simply skulk in his shadow, muttering lines and killing time until his next scene. This is a film you might see once ... but just once.

Holly: Absolutely. The tension makes the movie. Once you know how it ends, there’s no need to ever watch it again. Writers David Loughery and Howard Korder seem to have been confused about whether they wanted to humanize the character at all or make him entirely unforgivable. A scene where Turner hauled off and smacked his teenage daughter in front of Lisa made me jump in my seat. Clearly Loughery and Korder have not watched a lot of crummy TV movies — in those, the evil neighbor seems charming for the first third. Here, they dove right in and made Abel an utter tool from the get-go. There’s no mincing about there.

Casey: This film would be a great way to change things up if your life has been too carefree and relaxing. An hour after it was over, I was still feeling jittery and having trouble concentrating. A bit of steam is let off at the end, but ultimately, the pressure built up bit by bit was still there after the credits. “Lakeview Terrace” was an experience, certainly, but not one I want to repeat any time soon.

Holly: If “absurd” was the word for last week’s “Burn After Reading,” the key term for “Lakeview Terrace” is “tense.” As exaggerated as the plot and the character seem, the scary thing about the film is that there are people out there like Abel Turner who harbor irrational hate and who are bullies simply because they can be. I can only hope none of our readers think this menacing neighbor seems familiar.

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