Panic Room (2002)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

David Fincher

Writer (WGA):

David Koepp (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

It was supposed to be the safest room in the house

Plot:

A woman and her teenage daughter become imprisoned in the panic room of their own house by 3 criminals.

Plot Keywords:

Break In | Home | Blood | Panic Room | Police

Awards:

1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Jodie Foster	...	Meg Altman
Kristen Stewart	...	Sarah Altman
Forest Whitaker	...	Burnham
Dwight Yoakam	...	Raoul
Jared Leto	...	Junior
Patrick Bauchau	...	Stephen Altman
Ann Magnuson	...	Lydia Lynch
Ian Buchanan	...	Evan Kurlander
Andrew Kevin Walker	...	Sleepy Neighbor
Paul Schulze	...	Officer Keeney
Mel Rodriguez	...	Officer Morales
Richard Conant	...	SWAT Cop
Paul Simon	...	SWAT Cop
Victor Thrash	...	SWAT Cop
Ken Turner	...	SWAT Cop

Also Known As:

Safe Room (USA) (working title)
The Panic Room (USA) (working title)
La habitación del pánico (Argentina) (Colombia) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Panic Room (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Azyl (Poland) [pl]
Camera de refugiu (Romania) [ro]
Ha-Heder (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
La chambre forte (Canada: French title) [fr]
O Quarto do Pânico (Brazil) [pt]
Pánikszoba (Hungary) [hu]
Panic Room (Finland) [fi]
Panic Room (France) [fr]
Panik odasi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Sala de Pânico (Portugal) [pt]
Soba panike (Serbia) [sr]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

112 min | Spain:113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut) | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Belgium:16 (TV rating) | Belgium:KT (cinema release) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Canada:R (DVD rating) | Finland:K-15 | France:U (with warning) | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Andrew Kevin Walker (the sleepy neighbor) was the screenwriter of Se7en (1995), also directed by David Fincher.

Goofs:

Continuity: Sarah's coke can in the first dinner at the house repeatedly turns round between shots.

Quotes:

Stephen Altman: Meg, why are we doing this?
Meg: Because that's what its going to come to.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Getaway: (#17.9)" (2008)

Technical Wizardy But No Drama

Damn shame if you ask me! Jodie Foster refused to be the president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival to do this. Maybe it looked good on the page and it certainly looks good on the screen, specially the opening credits but there is very little else to recommend. David Fincher does some dizzying things with the camera but the script by the very rich David Koepp is just plain amateurish. I was so frustrated by the waste of everything here. The characters seem a facsimile of characters from other, better, movies without being able to nail that extra dimension that could make them, at least, watchable. The husband, the cops even the baddies are all laughable. Jodie Foster has a couple of moments and she's one of my heroes anyway but that's maybe why I felt so annoyed by this movie, so much so that I decided to vent my frustration writing this comment. If you love Jodie Foster, avoid this for her sake.