Lakeview Terrace

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Cast & Crew

Samuel L. Jackson

Abel Turner

Patrick Wilson

Chris Mattson

Kerry Washington

Lisa Mattson

Jay Hernandez

Javier Villareal

Ron Glass

Harold Perreau

Justin Chambers

Donnie Eaton

Regine Nehy

Celia Turner

Jaishon Fisher

Marcus Turner

Neil LaBute

Director

David Loughery

Screenwriter

Howard Korder

Screenwriter

Will Smith

Producer

James Lassiter

Producer

John Cameron

Executive Producer

David Loughery

Executive Producer

Jeffrey Graup

Executive Producer

Joe Pichirallo

Executive Producer

Rogier Stoffers

Cinematographer

Bruton Jones

Production Design

Joel Plotch

Film Editing

Lynette Meyer

Costume Design

Mychael Danna

Original Music

Jeff Danna

Original Music

Heidi Levitt

Casting

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News & Interviews for Lakeview Terrace

New on Netflix October 2019

UK Critics Consensus: Writers Warm to Madagascar 2; UK Critics Liked Lakeview Terrace

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Jackson Debuts Ahead of the Race

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Critic Reviews for Lakeview Terrace

Audience Reviews for Lakeview Terrace

• Aug 04, 2022

  The movie is obviously a very deliberate provocation (and one that I would argue is completely legitimate) but the issue is that the movie gets sillier and sillier as it goes along. By the end it just goes completely off the rails which undermines the tension.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Apr 03, 2019

  Jackson is solid in the lead and provides an interesting, but flawed character. The issue I have with the film is the weak thriller aspect. Sony has a genre style of films that are very similar and focus on ethnic divide. This is a passable thriller and lacks depth, not something you will hold onto after the end credits. Jackson is the key and Wilson attempts to inject himself into the action. Very predictable and clichà (C) riddled. I honestly think a dark comedy version of this might work, this film takes everything way to serious. 03/04/2019
  

  brendan n Super Reviewer
• Apr 28, 2018

  You know, Samuel L. Jackson is a special actor. In fact, he reminds me somewhat of Kevin Spacey (minus the scandals that have destroyed his career, rightfully so). What I mean by that is that when Samuel L. Jackson is on, there's very few other actors that can touch him. I firmly believe that about Mr. Jackson. The intensity and presence that he brings to each role, when he's inspired, is not necessarily unparalleled, but there's things he does better than even the most elite of actors. Jackson gives off the presence of someone you simply don't fuck with better than, really, almost anyone else. But, the other side of the coin, is that when Jackson is uninspired, or he simply takes a role for the paycheck, you will not find a more bored actor alive. This is why I think he can be compared to Kevin Spacey, who fit that same mold. Mr. Jackson has done a lot of low-budget action flicks, which I've never seen because, somehow, I just don't go for low-budget DTV action movies. I did see Meeting Evil, which featured him and Luke Wilson, and I remember him giving an incredibly uninspired performance. This is a shame because, honestly, I don't think Samuel Jackson gets as much credit as he deserves for being a tremendous actor that brings a lot to the table when he's really into a role. Do I think he's one of the best of all time? No, but I do think that he was robbed of a Oscar nomination (and win) for, what might be, his best performance in Django Unchained. That's just my opinion, but if you disagree then you are just wrong. You couldn't be more wronger about anything in your life. As far as this movie is concerned, however, where does it fall in comparison to Jackson's best? Obviously, this is not his best performance, but I definitely think it's underappreciated because, quite frankly, I thought Mr. Jackson gave a phenomenal performance here. Yes, the character is definitely one-dimensional. But that shouldn't take away from the fact that Samuel did about as great a job as I've seen anyone, in recent memory, of making me hate himYou know, Samuel L. Jackson is a special actor. In fact, he reminds me somewhat of Kevin Spacey (minus the scandals that have destroyed his career, rightfully so). What I mean by that is that when Samuel L. Jackson is on, there's very few other actors that can touch him. I firmly believe that about Mr. Jackson. The intensity and presence that he brings to each role, when he's inspired, is not necessarily unparalleled, but there's things he does better than even the most elite of actors. Jackson gives off the presence of someone you simply don't fuck with better than, really, almost anyone else. But, the other side of the coin, is that when Jackson is uninspired, or he simply takes a role for the paycheck, you will not find a more bored actor alive. This is why I think he can be compared to Kevin Spacey, who fit that same mold. Mr. Jackson has done a lot of low-budget action flicks, which I've never seen because, somehow, I just don't go for low-budget DTV action movies. I did see Meeting Evil, which featured him and Luke Wilson, and I remember him giving an incredibly uninspired performance. This is a shame because, honestly, I don't think Samuel Jackson gets as much credit as he deserves for being a tremendous actor that brings a lot to the table when he's really into a role. Do I think he's one of the best of all time? No, but I do think that he was robbed of a Oscar nomination (and win) for, what might be, his best performance in Django Unchained. That's just my opinion, but if you disagree then you are just wrong. You couldn't be more wronger about anything in your life. As far as this movie is concerned, however, where does it fall in comparison to Jackson's best? Obviously, this is not his best performance, but I definitely think it's underappreciated because, quite frankly, I thought Mr. Jackson gave a phenomenal performance here. Yes, the character is definitely one-dimensional. But that shouldn't take away from the fact that Samuel did about as great a job as I've seen anyone, in recent memory, of making me hate him. I really do mean that. He was fantastic here and I think his performance doesn't get noticed as much simply because, quite frankly, the movie isn't that great to begin with. Having aside that, the neighbor from hell trope has been used many times in the past. If there's one good thing that the hurricane Maria, which destroyed Puerto Rico last year, is that it forced us closer to our neighbors. Let's just say that, for the most part, there was no talking between us...for a variety of reasons. The hurricane changed all that and, honestly, it was the only good thing the hurricane brought. With that said, now that we've left this part of our lives behind and we're moving on, after five months without electricity, one of my neighbors has been inconsiderate towards us. There's also some behavioral issues that have forced me to stop socializing as much with this person. Obviously, my neighbor's level of inconsideration doesn't amount to 10% of Abel's actions in this movie, but it's something that I can somewhat relate to. I feel that most of you can relate to aspects of this since, again, Abel is pretty detestable. I know I said the movie wasn't exactly great and that's why Jackson's performance here has been forgotten, relatively speaking, but as a B-tier movie offering B-movie thrills, this is a perfectly decent movie. Story is simple enough, Abel feuds with his new neighbor, who just so happen to be an interracial couple. Chris is white and Lisa, his wife, is black. He instantly dislikes these two for this very reason. The feuding between the two starts out very 'innocently' with Abel's security lights shining into Chris and Lisa's bedroom. As the story moves along, so does the feuding with Abel interjecting himself more and more in his neighbor's lives. Perhaps the biggest problem I had with the movie is the fact that Abel's reasons for doing what he's doing are so absurd. He's obviously meant to be portrayed as an unstable individual who feels the need to control every situation his way and his alone. He doesn't let his kids express themselves how they want, etc, etc. I get that. But I still found his reasoning flawed. So, basically, his wife died in a car accident while she was driving somewhere with her boss, a honky, who also died. Her reasoned that they must have been having affair because, otherwise, why would she be in a car with her boss at that particular time. Her death probably sent him in a downward spiral, but I felt that the character needed more than just that. Hell, I feel that the alternative of it being teased throughout the movie that Abel doesn't like them because they're an interracial couple, but he's just a maniac who just doesn't like them, nothing to do with the fact they're an interracial couple, to be more satisfying. Who knows, maybe I would have complained if that had been the case. Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess. But again, I'm not gonna call this a good movie, but it offers adequate B-level thrills and solid performances from every surrounding Jackson. Abel escalates things by forcing one of his snitches to break into Chris and Lisa's house, to rob the place so they'll, maybe, pack their bags and leave for good. Things go wrong, naturally, and Lisa (who's pregnant) is put in danger and is sent to the hospital. Abel kills the snitch in order to cover up his involvement. Chris is thankful for what Abel did until, later, he finds out that he was involved in it. This is when the film climaxes and it's set against the backdrop of a forest fire that's been raging towards them the entire film. You knew it had to be something like that, given the way they focus so much on the fire spreading throughout the flick. I think perhaps, given everything that's gone on in the decade after this movie's release, it might be a little tone-deaf, but it worked at the time. Not a bad movie, but I think its story's limitations are apparent. That said, however, this is still a surprisingly decent little movie with an incredible performance from Samuel Jackson. Not one of his best, but definitely one of his most underrated. If there's a reason to watch this movie, it's because of him and him alone. That's how good he is.
  

  jesse o Super Reviewer
• Feb 14, 2013

  'Lakeview Terrace' is a worthwhile but flawed thriller about racial politics played out in an idyllic multi-cultural LA bedroom community. It's like a chamber version of Paul Haggis' Crash, with a more focused, smaller scale story. I rented it due to my admiration for director Neil LaBute's dark writing skills both on stage and screen. Though he did not write this one, it did reflect his questioning and often perverse take on human relationships. Interracial couple Kerry Washington and Patrick Wilson move into to a mixed and apparently tension free subdivision, their nearest neighbor is a widowed LA patrol cop and his two teens. That cop, Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson), anchors the film in a typically galvanic and menacing performance. He does not approve of the races mixing (for hidden reasons of his own, I won't go to spoiler alert) and surreptitiously does everything he can to terrorize them and undermine their relationship. Jackson will literally do anything, regardless of morality to mess up the lives of this couple. Wilson and Washington play more complex and less 'goody two shoes' characters than you would expect in more cliched film. Their marriage is presented as having cracks before they arrived in the neighborhood, caused by a combination of character differences and the corrosive effects of society's lack of acceptance of their marriage. Neither actor plays sweet ingenue roles, which is to the film's credit. Yet, because of the above point, I didn't care whether this couple stayed together or broke up and that is an almost fatal flaw. Hence, we have much less to root for in the course of the film and as a result, the first hour of set up is much more interesting than the last hour of denouement, where the film breaks down in gratuitous action and mayhem scenes, particularly in the gun blazing climax. Jackson's a mesmerizing presence and plays a very dark and unusual character. Still, I was never convinced or understood his reverse racism, even though it's explained with a lame plot detail at the end concerning his late wife. Look for a nice turn by Regina Nehy as Jackson's intelligent and questioning teen daughter, she does very lovely work here. In some ways LT works better than its sister movie 'Crash' since it has less ambition and more narrowly focused. However, after hour one it bogs down in unconvincing plot points and gratuitous complications involving crazy and unbelievable scheming on the part of Abel. The film is workmanlike in its technical aspects and is very well paced. It's worth a rental on a rainy or snowy night.
  

  Super Reviewer