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)

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) | Belgium:16 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 (DVD 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:

David Koepp wrote the first draft of the script in six days

Goofs:

Continuity: The amount of coke in Sarah's glass changes between shots.

Quotes:

[after Meg set the propane gas on fire scene]
Meg: [to Sarah] Are you okay?
Sarah: [nods]
Meg: [scolding] Promise me you will never do *ANYTHING* like that.
Sarah: [nods] I won't.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Stacked: Darling Nikki (#2.3)" (2005)

Panic Room: High-octane excitement with many clever surprises

In her first suspense-thriller since her Academy-Award winning turn in "The Silence of the Lambs", Jodie Foster registers quite well as middle-aged New Yorker Meg Altman, who moves into an EXTREMELY spacious brownstone with her daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart), a diabetic tomboy. The building is equipped with a special shelter designed in the event of a break-in, known as a 'panic room'. Meg and Sarah waste no time in putting the claustrophobic area to use (on their first night, no less) when a trio of burglars (Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto and Dwight Yoakam) make their way into her building to retrieve a large sum of money. The catch is that the burglars' stash is in the very room in which Meg and her daughter are hiding! While 'Panic Room' is not exactly white-knuckle suspense, it definitely has its moments, especially the heart-pounding moment when Meg leaves the panic room to grab her cell phone, and the the tension-building scene when Whitaker and Yoakam enter the panic room when Foster leaves. The only main plot hole is clear in the very beginning: Why would a recently separated woman with one child want to purchase a four-story brownstone? What does she need all of that space for? Besides that, 'Panic Room' is an intelligently written and directed thriller from director David Fincher (Fight Club). The only characters that don't make sense are Meg's friend in the opening scenes and her husband (Ann Magnuson and Patrick Bauchau). They both seem hopelessly unnecessary; otherwise, 'Panic Room' is a first-rate thriller with similarities to several shockers of the early 1990s, 'Unlawful Entry' (1992) being one in particular. Whitaker has to be one of the nicest thieves in recent film history!