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Sunday, Sep 09, 2007
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Entertainment, but not much more

Disturbia (English)

Director: D.J. Caruso

Cast: Shia LeBeouf, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Moss, Sarah Roemer, Antony Yoo

Let’s face it, when Alfred Hitchcock made Rear Window, he made the mould and broke it too. Numerous versions have followed since, trying to contemporise the definitive peeping tom thriller and in almost all cases falling well short of the mark. In that sense, Disturbia is just as much a disappointment.

Disturbia replaces the broken leg of Rear Window with an ankle bracelet, which our hero Kale (Shia LeBeouf) earns for punching his Spanish teacher in the face. And with his X-Box, television and i-Tunes unplugged by harried mother Julie (Carrie-Anne Moss), Kale turns to his neighbours for entertainment. Most of it comes from Sarah Roemer, who plays the flirty neighbour that notches up the required sexuality quotient of the film. And creepy neighbour Mr. Turner (David Morse), who might or might not be hiding a dangerous secret.

Unlike the Hitchcock classic, which made a wonderfully clever and somewhat disturbing statement on voyeurism and the nature of human curiosity, neither condemning nor rewarding it, Disturbia plays it rather straight. Although it mak es the odd comment on privacy it stays well clear of anything that might have to make its viewers think.

But consider this movie for what it is, as a piece of entertainment that does not pretend to be anything higher, and it isn’t all bad. Packed with all the ingredients of a teen thriller, it still combines its elements well enough to rise above the standards of most of the genre. Writers Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth, adopt the conventions of the genre efficiently, so as to create a film that holds one’s attention. The real coup here is the casting. LeBeouf’s nervous energy fills every scene, and his mischievous, disarming charm fits perfectly with the tone of the film.

Sarah Roemer serves as eye-candy while David Morse sends a shiver up one’s spine even in his most benign moments.

RAKESH MEHAR

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