In the past few years, Samuel L. "Snakes on a Plane" Jackson has become better known as a pop-culture punch line than an actor.
So it's nice to be reminded that he's still a pretty strong actor, given a decent role. Few others can pull off threatening, yet likable, at once.
Crisp direction from Neil LaBute -- perhaps the poet laureate of unpleasant people -- helps immensely.
Jackson plays Abel, a tough cop and single father who patrols some of the hardest 'hoods in L.A., and comes home every night to his quiet, peaceful suburban home. But he can't just turn off the paranoid vigilance and intimidating demeanor that keep him alive on the job.
"Lakeview Terrace" expertly exploits current anxieties, such as those of the new homeowner finding out that his dream home comes with a very nasty, nebby neighbor.
With forest fires raging in the distance, Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) -- a young, well-to-do mixed-race couple -- move into their new home in Lakeview Terrace, a far suburb of L.A.
Abel introduces himself by pretending to be a carjacker, explaining that Chris needs to watch out for criminals, even here. This could be laughed off -- but soon, the little slights and endless needling begin to add up. First, it's a security light shining into their windows at night, and letting Lisa know about Chris' secret cigarette habit. Soon, it's petty vandalism, and an all-cop bachelor party that rages out of control.
Chris tries to remain friendly, but everything he does seems to heighten the antagonism and suspicion. The fault lines between Chris and Abel -- race, class, age, politics, even music (Chris likes rap, Abel doesn't) -- run too deep.
Jackson brings nuance to what easily could have been a by-the-books bad guy, humanizing him with small, vivid details -- like when Abel punishes his son for wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey. We gradually learn what's eating at him, and although we can't exactly empathize, we can at least understand a little.
The climactic ending takes a wrong turn into typical thriller territory, both more predictable and less believable than the set-up. It feels as though the studio wanted the button-pushing nastiness of LaBute, but chose facile closure and moral certainty over the kind of truly unsettling ending "Lakeview Terrace" deserves.
• In wide release
Additional Information:'Lakeview Terrace'
Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality, language and drug references
(out of four)
