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Rear Window (1954)| 1h 52min | Mystery, Thriller | September 1954 (USA)
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Michael Hayes (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich(based on the short story by)
Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey |
Rear Window (1954)Approved | 1h 52min | Mystery, Thriller | September 1954 (USA)
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Michael Hayes (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich(based on the short story by)
Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey |
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Michael Hayes (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich(based on the short story by)
Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey |
Rear Window (1954)Approved | 1h 52min | Mystery, Thriller | September 1954 (USA)
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Michael Hayes (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich(based on the short story by)
Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey |
DetailsCountry:
USA
Language:
English
Release Date:
September 1954 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window See more »
Filming Locations:
Stage 18, Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »
Box OfficeBudget:
$1,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend:
$15,172 (USA) (21 January 2000)
Gross:
$24,500,000 (USA)
See more »
Company CreditsProduction Co:
Paramount Pictures, Patron Inc. See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »
Technical SpecsRuntime:
112 min
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor) (negative)| Color (Technicolor) (prints)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
USA
Language:
English
Release Date:
September 1954 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window See more »
Filming Locations:
Stage 18, Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »
Box OfficeBudget:
$1,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend:
$15,172 (USA) (21 January 2000)
Gross:
$24,500,000 (USA)
See more »
Company CreditsProduction Co:
Paramount Pictures, Patron Inc. See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »
Technical SpecsRuntime:
112 min
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor) (negative)| Color (Technicolor) (prints)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
Alfred Hitchcock taught us all the dangers of spying on your neighbors with his 1954 thriller, Rear Window. The single-set movie concerns L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies, a photojournalist stuck in his apartment thanks to a broken leg. He accidentally witnesses what he thinks is a murder, but must prove to the police, his nurse Stella, and his girlfriend Lisa that he isn't just imagining things.
Rear Window features performances from Hitchcock regulars Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly and couture costumes from fashion icon Edith Head. But before you settle in for 112 minutes of claustrophobia, here are a few facts about the movie’s gossip-laden production.
1. THE ORIGINAL STORY DOESN’T INCLUDE LISA OR STELLA.Rear Window was based on Cornell Woolrich's short story, “It Had to Be Murder.” In Woolrich’s version, the voyeuristic protagonist does not have a girlfriend or a nurse, although he does have a “day houseman” named Sam who checks in on him. Oh and his leg injury? It isn't explicitly mentioned until the very last line.
2. ALFRED HITCHCOCK WAS INSPIRED BY TWO ACTUAL MURDER CASES.Although John Michael Hayes wrote the screenplay for the movie, Hitchcock helped with the actual crime at the center of the story. As he told François Truffaut, he lifted two news items from the British press: the 1910 case of Dr. Hawley Crippen and the 1924 case of Patrick Mohan. Crippen killed his wife, told friends she went to America, and then aroused suspicion by flaunting his secretary around town. Police later found body parts in the Crippen home and arrested the doctor for murder. (Some now believe Crippen was innocent.) Mohan also dismembered his pregnant girlfriend, throwing pieces of her body out a train window. But he didn’t know what to do with her head, and it was this gruesome detail that inspired Hitchcock to include a plot thread about digging up the neighbors’ flower bed for evidence.
3. GRACE KELLY TURNED DOWN THE LEAD IN ON THE WATERFRONTTO STAR IN REAR WINDOW.In the fall of 1953, Grace Kelly was offered the female lead in two films: one was Rear Window, the other was Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront. Although she was dying to work with Hitchcock again, On the Waterfrontwould’ve allowed Kelly to stay in New York, which she preferred to Los Angeles. Still, she ultimately chose to play socialite Lisa Fremont over blue-collar Edie Doyle. Instead, the part went to Eva Marie Saint, who would become a Hitchcock blonde herself with North by Northwest.
4. HITCHCOCK MODELED THE VILLAIN ON A PRODUCER HE HATED.
YouTubeHitchcock had a long-standing grudge with his former producer, David O. Selznick. The director believed Selznick had meddled too much with his movies, so much so that Hitchcock effectively disowned his first film with the producer, Rebecca. His ties to Selznick ended with the 1947 movie The Paradine Case, though, so Hitch decided to enact a sly bit of revenge onscreen. It involved Raymond Burr, the actor playing Rear Window villain Lars Thorwald. Hitchcock gave Burr glasses just like Selznick’s and curly gray hair to match. He also instructed Burr to adopt many of the producer’s mannerisms, such as the way he cradled a telephone in his neck. When all was said and done, Burr’s murderous character looked a lot like Selznick, no doubt to the producer’s supreme annoyance.
5. JIMMY STEWART’S WIFE DIDN’T WANT HIM TO MAKE A MOVIE WITH KELLY.Before she was Princess Grace of Monaco, Grace Kelly had areputation(whether true or not) for having affairs with her male costars—even the married ones. One of those men was Ray Milland, whose spurned wife just happened to be good friends with Jimmy Stewart's wife, Gloria. Gloria was less than thrilled at the prospect of her husband working with Kelly, and developed a bit of paranoia. According to True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Gloria was on set constantly, watching for signs of an affair. Nothing materialized, although Rear Window cast member Thelma Ritter confirmed that Kelly was a huge flirt. “I think it took [Stewart] back to his fancy-free, footloose bachelor days,” she said. “I don’t say he flirted, but he didn’t seem to mind it, either.”
6. “MISS TORSO” WAS A TEENAGE BALLERINA.Georgine Darcy was 17 years old when she was cast as “Miss Torso,” Jeff’s dancing neighbor. Hitchcock picked her out of a pile of publicity photos; hers apparently caught his eye because she had paid extra for color prints. Darcy was fairly new in town, having left her home in Brooklyn just the year before to pursue ballet in California. So when Hitchcock met her, he suggested she get an agent. She didn’t, though, and was subsequently paid just $350 for her work. (That’s about $3150 in today's dollars.)
7. THE “SONGWRITER” WAS ALSO ONE IN REAL LIFE.Ross Bagdasarian played the pianist neighbor who is frequently seen composing new pieces. The credits bill him as “The Songwriter,” which is pretty appropriate, considering what Bagdasarian did when he wasn’t acting. He was also a pianist and composer himself, and made his name by creating Alvin and the Chipmunks. But before he recorded “The Chipmunk Song” in 1958, he helped Hitch with his Rear Windowcameo. Watch the Songwriter’s apartment and you’ll see a portly fellow winding his clock.
8. JEFF AND LISA’S ROMANCE IS SUPPOSEDLY BASED ON A REAL INGRID BERGMAN FLING.Rumor has it that Jeff and Lisa were based on war photographer Robert Capa and Ingrid Bergman. The pair dated while Bergman was filming Notorious with Hitchcock in 1946, so he saw the relationship firsthand. The affair ended within a year, but it clearly struck a chord with Hitchcock, who had what many described as an "acute, unrequited passion" for Bergman. Like Jeff, Capa was a photojournalist who lived in Greenwich Village. And in a particularly eerie twist of fate, they both suffered leg injuries while on the job.
9. THE ELABORATE SET COST SERIOUS CASH.The apartment complex seen in Rear Window was completely constructed on the Paramount Studios lot—and it cost a pretty penny. It reportedlycost an “unprecedented” $9000 to design and $72,000 to build. (About $728,805 total, when adjusted for inflation.) The final set included seven apartment buildings and three other buildings on the other side of the street. It also boasted 31 apartments, although only a handful were fully furnished.
10. IT’S THE ONLY FILM WHERE KELLY SMOKES ON-SCREEN.Kelly refused to smoke cigarettes in her movies, but she made a slight exception for Hitchcock in Rear Window. In one scene, she’s seen with an unlit cigarette between her lips. The camera cuts to Stewart, then back to her. She’s suddenly holding a lit cigarette, which she soon puts out. This way, Hitchcock got his smoking scene, while Kelly never technically broke her rule.
11. HITCHCOCK DELIBERATELY MISDIRECTED HIS ACTORS FOR LAUGHS.Each neighbor has a hook: Miss Torso is a dancer, Miss Lonelyhearts is severely single, the Songwriter is, well, a songwriter. Then there’s that random couple sleeping on the fire escape. Actors Sara Berner and Frank Cady played the unnamed pair, who spend most of the movie fidgeting on a mattress outdoors without incident. Until it rains. For this scene, Hitchcock intentionally messed with his actors. He told Berner to pull the mattress one way and Cady to pull it the other. Neither one knew the other had received conflicting directions. So when Hitchcock called "action," the pair struggled with the mattress until Cady accidentally flew into the window. Hitchcock thought it was so funny, he kept it in the movie.
12. THE BOOK LISA READS AT THE END IS A FINAL WINK.In the final scene of Rear Window, Lisa is seen reading the book Beyond the High Himalayas by William O. Douglas. Douglas was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1939 through 1975, but Lisa wasn’t skimming that book for legalese. Douglas suffered from polio as a child, and was told by doctors that he would be crippled for life. But after taking up hiking, Douglas discovered that a) he could definitely walk and b) he loved nature. He wrote a few books about his adventures as an ode to the great outdoors. Beyond the High Himalayas was one of them.
Rear Window features performances from Hitchcock regulars Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly and couture costumes from fashion icon Edith Head. But before you settle in for 112 minutes of claustrophobia, here are a few facts about the movie’s gossip-laden production.
1. THE ORIGINAL STORY DOESN’T INCLUDE LISA OR STELLA.Rear Window was based on Cornell Woolrich's short story, “It Had to Be Murder.” In Woolrich’s version, the voyeuristic protagonist does not have a girlfriend or a nurse, although he does have a “day houseman” named Sam who checks in on him. Oh and his leg injury? It isn't explicitly mentioned until the very last line.
2. ALFRED HITCHCOCK WAS INSPIRED BY TWO ACTUAL MURDER CASES.Although John Michael Hayes wrote the screenplay for the movie, Hitchcock helped with the actual crime at the center of the story. As he told François Truffaut, he lifted two news items from the British press: the 1910 case of Dr. Hawley Crippen and the 1924 case of Patrick Mohan. Crippen killed his wife, told friends she went to America, and then aroused suspicion by flaunting his secretary around town. Police later found body parts in the Crippen home and arrested the doctor for murder. (Some now believe Crippen was innocent.) Mohan also dismembered his pregnant girlfriend, throwing pieces of her body out a train window. But he didn’t know what to do with her head, and it was this gruesome detail that inspired Hitchcock to include a plot thread about digging up the neighbors’ flower bed for evidence.
3. GRACE KELLY TURNED DOWN THE LEAD IN ON THE WATERFRONTTO STAR IN REAR WINDOW.In the fall of 1953, Grace Kelly was offered the female lead in two films: one was Rear Window, the other was Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront. Although she was dying to work with Hitchcock again, On the Waterfrontwould’ve allowed Kelly to stay in New York, which she preferred to Los Angeles. Still, she ultimately chose to play socialite Lisa Fremont over blue-collar Edie Doyle. Instead, the part went to Eva Marie Saint, who would become a Hitchcock blonde herself with North by Northwest.
4. HITCHCOCK MODELED THE VILLAIN ON A PRODUCER HE HATED.
YouTubeHitchcock had a long-standing grudge with his former producer, David O. Selznick. The director believed Selznick had meddled too much with his movies, so much so that Hitchcock effectively disowned his first film with the producer, Rebecca. His ties to Selznick ended with the 1947 movie The Paradine Case, though, so Hitch decided to enact a sly bit of revenge onscreen. It involved Raymond Burr, the actor playing Rear Window villain Lars Thorwald. Hitchcock gave Burr glasses just like Selznick’s and curly gray hair to match. He also instructed Burr to adopt many of the producer’s mannerisms, such as the way he cradled a telephone in his neck. When all was said and done, Burr’s murderous character looked a lot like Selznick, no doubt to the producer’s supreme annoyance.
5. JIMMY STEWART’S WIFE DIDN’T WANT HIM TO MAKE A MOVIE WITH KELLY.Before she was Princess Grace of Monaco, Grace Kelly had areputation(whether true or not) for having affairs with her male costars—even the married ones. One of those men was Ray Milland, whose spurned wife just happened to be good friends with Jimmy Stewart's wife, Gloria. Gloria was less than thrilled at the prospect of her husband working with Kelly, and developed a bit of paranoia. According to True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Gloria was on set constantly, watching for signs of an affair. Nothing materialized, although Rear Window cast member Thelma Ritter confirmed that Kelly was a huge flirt. “I think it took [Stewart] back to his fancy-free, footloose bachelor days,” she said. “I don’t say he flirted, but he didn’t seem to mind it, either.”
6. “MISS TORSO” WAS A TEENAGE BALLERINA.Georgine Darcy was 17 years old when she was cast as “Miss Torso,” Jeff’s dancing neighbor. Hitchcock picked her out of a pile of publicity photos; hers apparently caught his eye because she had paid extra for color prints. Darcy was fairly new in town, having left her home in Brooklyn just the year before to pursue ballet in California. So when Hitchcock met her, he suggested she get an agent. She didn’t, though, and was subsequently paid just $350 for her work. (That’s about $3150 in today's dollars.)
7. THE “SONGWRITER” WAS ALSO ONE IN REAL LIFE.Ross Bagdasarian played the pianist neighbor who is frequently seen composing new pieces. The credits bill him as “The Songwriter,” which is pretty appropriate, considering what Bagdasarian did when he wasn’t acting. He was also a pianist and composer himself, and made his name by creating Alvin and the Chipmunks. But before he recorded “The Chipmunk Song” in 1958, he helped Hitch with his Rear Windowcameo. Watch the Songwriter’s apartment and you’ll see a portly fellow winding his clock.
8. JEFF AND LISA’S ROMANCE IS SUPPOSEDLY BASED ON A REAL INGRID BERGMAN FLING.Rumor has it that Jeff and Lisa were based on war photographer Robert Capa and Ingrid Bergman. The pair dated while Bergman was filming Notorious with Hitchcock in 1946, so he saw the relationship firsthand. The affair ended within a year, but it clearly struck a chord with Hitchcock, who had what many described as an "acute, unrequited passion" for Bergman. Like Jeff, Capa was a photojournalist who lived in Greenwich Village. And in a particularly eerie twist of fate, they both suffered leg injuries while on the job.
9. THE ELABORATE SET COST SERIOUS CASH.The apartment complex seen in Rear Window was completely constructed on the Paramount Studios lot—and it cost a pretty penny. It reportedlycost an “unprecedented” $9000 to design and $72,000 to build. (About $728,805 total, when adjusted for inflation.) The final set included seven apartment buildings and three other buildings on the other side of the street. It also boasted 31 apartments, although only a handful were fully furnished.
10. IT’S THE ONLY FILM WHERE KELLY SMOKES ON-SCREEN.Kelly refused to smoke cigarettes in her movies, but she made a slight exception for Hitchcock in Rear Window. In one scene, she’s seen with an unlit cigarette between her lips. The camera cuts to Stewart, then back to her. She’s suddenly holding a lit cigarette, which she soon puts out. This way, Hitchcock got his smoking scene, while Kelly never technically broke her rule.
11. HITCHCOCK DELIBERATELY MISDIRECTED HIS ACTORS FOR LAUGHS.Each neighbor has a hook: Miss Torso is a dancer, Miss Lonelyhearts is severely single, the Songwriter is, well, a songwriter. Then there’s that random couple sleeping on the fire escape. Actors Sara Berner and Frank Cady played the unnamed pair, who spend most of the movie fidgeting on a mattress outdoors without incident. Until it rains. For this scene, Hitchcock intentionally messed with his actors. He told Berner to pull the mattress one way and Cady to pull it the other. Neither one knew the other had received conflicting directions. So when Hitchcock called "action," the pair struggled with the mattress until Cady accidentally flew into the window. Hitchcock thought it was so funny, he kept it in the movie.
12. THE BOOK LISA READS AT THE END IS A FINAL WINK.In the final scene of Rear Window, Lisa is seen reading the book Beyond the High Himalayas by William O. Douglas. Douglas was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1939 through 1975, but Lisa wasn’t skimming that book for legalese. Douglas suffered from polio as a child, and was told by doctors that he would be crippled for life. But after taking up hiking, Douglas discovered that a) he could definitely walk and b) he loved nature. He wrote a few books about his adventures as an ode to the great outdoors. Beyond the High Himalayas was one of them.
10 Years Later: Shia LaBeouf, Disturbia and Perfecting the Spring MovieAPRIL 12, 2017 BY SHAWN GLINISAlthough it’s not uncommon for a child star to adjust to adulthood with a sharp turn toward more “mature” work, Shia LaBeouf’s career has been unique. A taxonomy of child star fall-from-graces would surely be long enough to keep a wikipedia editor busy, but the pure range of LaBeouf’s descent makes it one of the more notable instances in recent memory. Before a pseudo-performance artist with a handful of plagiarism accusations and Gorilla Glue-like adherence to a gutter punk aesthetic, LaBeouf had the makings of Hollywood’s next A-list leading man.
After proving he could make the transition from small screen to silver screen with Disney’s Holes in 2003, Hollywood primed him with bit parts on larger stages, like I Robot, The Greatest Game Ever Played and Constantine, before it was apparent LaBeouf had an undeniable leading-man chemistry that belied his goofy looks and left-of-center mannerisms. Then, in 2007, came his breakthrough.
Though his turn as Sam Witwicky in Michael Bay’s woefully underappreciated 2007 reboot of the Transformersfranchise is likely what most will attribute his breakthrough to, a few months prior was LaBeouf’s real tour de force: Disturbia. With Disturbia, LaBeouf did the unspeakable. Almost single handedly, he made a compelling film out of the following elevator pitch: Rear Window for Teens by that guy who made Two for the Money.
Disturbia was a pretty solid hit, enjoying three straight weeks atop the box office (before Spider-Man 3 came to town), but for the past 10 years, after being originally chided by those that consider themselves bastions of good taste (like OV’s own Steve Cuff) as....well, Rear Window for Teens by that guy who made Two for the Money, the film has been neglected enough to be considered underrated, marking it worthy of a look at how well it plays a decade later.
Lore has it Disturbia’s script was originally penned and sold in the 1990s, but wasn’t produced due to Christopher Reeve’s (dreadful) straight remake of Rear Window...until it was taken back off the shelf ten years later as a Shia LaBeouf vehicle. Now, if you’re one of these skeptical hoity toity film snobs that can’t imagine enjoying anything that dares sully the annals of cinema history, you might ask me, “How can this Rear Windowrip off possibly be a success?” Great question.
Basically, this film doesn’t try to adhere closely to Rear Window at all outside of a point of influence. Another straight remake would have been annoying and dull. Instead, Disturbia acts as a YA reimagining of Rear Windowwhere Hitchcock’s classic acts as motivation. And, most significant to its success, is how much it fully commits to a sincerity that good YA fiction necessitates. It really believes in its abilities and its characters. That it’s similar to the plot of Rear Window is really the end of its interest in that film as source material.¹ Director D.J. Caruso and company are much more interested in telling their version of this story.²
Kale (LaBeouf) lives in suburban California (if shooting location is any indication), and while on house arrest, as a result of punching his high school teacher (in the wake of his father’s sudden passing), he becomes accustomed to watching his neighbors as a substitute for television. After hearing on the local news that a murderer is at large, Kale has reason to believe one of his neighbors is a prime suspect.
Though the title, setting and plot of Disturbia may suggest a subtext about the deep dark secrets of suburban life, the film isn’t really interested at all in developing that as a theme - which is one of its strengths. First of all, the opening sequence of Blue Velvet did that better than it will probably ever be done. Second, why cover such well-tread ground? Third, and most importantly, Disturbia couldn’t care less about dealing with such larger themes. Not because it lacks ambition, but because the filmmakers are just so invested in its foreground: chemistry and tone.
Now, I don’t want to suggest that, on principal, eschewing themes and subtext for character investment is always the right choice. For instance, this year’s Get Out was athletic enough to concurrently develop and indulge in the best interest of its characters, genre and subtext. But Disturbia is not that movie. The reason why this film’s decision to forgo an indulgence in the subtext it set up (the hidden nefariousness of suburbia) is partially the right choice is because of timing. Disturbia is the perfect spring movie. By mid-April, the seemingly interminable winter has passed, the sun is out until late evening and foliage is in bloom. Moviegoers want light, entertaining fare that celebrates a new, brighter season. This is what Disturbia (or its studio execs) understood. It’s also an attribute that may be easily forgotten or lost when viewed outside of its original context.
With ambitions of being the epitome of a breezy spring film for (nearly) all ages came restrictions for the filmmakers. Particularly, being relegated to PG-13 Thriller status. The PG-13 Thriller is a tough cookie to bake in a way that pleases both mainstream and genre audiences. But the film’s opening passages give us reason to believe it can walk this tightrope; it’s immediately funny, bubbling, charismatic and startling. Outside of LaBeouf, an ability to juggle tone is the core of the film’s success. Figuring out how to make a film of this release, genre and rating without being corny, boring or contrived was Disturbia’s biggest hurdle.
As an example of its aptitude, in an early scene, there’s a 90 second passage where LaBeouf shifts from mocking paparazzi TV to having diarrhea to mourning his father, before cutting to him listening to “Then I Got High,” all without being clumsy. But the film’s not entirely perfect - there’s a particular passage where LaBeouf nearly plagiarizes the climax of When Harry Met Sally - though I would argue that even its missteps are charming.
Part of the film’s tonal gymnastics is also balancing the film’s budding romance - another tenet of the YA recipe. The relationship between Kale and the new girl-next-door Ashley (Sarah Roehmer) is a significant part of the film, and what gives it narrative steam. It’s definitely a little weird that Ashley is so receptive to Kale, considering she’s caught him spying on her at all times of day with his huge binoculars, but the transition from Kale’s voyeuristic interest in Ashley to her confrontation of his spying, and finally to their mutual affection ends up injecting a lot of levity to the film’s atmosphere.
The couple’s relationship grows as they, along with Kale’s affable best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), join together to foil his neighbor’s murderous intents. The device of merging Kale and Ashley for this plotline works as a nice alchemy of character and narrative structure. A lesser film would’ve kept the female love interest as a cheerleader on the sidelines, but Disturbia is smart to give her agency, adding a more interesting group dynamic to the protagonists. That the romance is able to bolster the film at all despite the less-than-wonderful Sarah Roehmer - who seemingly only had an acting career because of her timely resemblance to Mischa Barton - is further testament to LaBeouf’s leading man charisma.
Director D.J. Caruso was also smart to pepper the cast with very capable veteran talent, like Carrie Ann Moss and even a then-unknown Viola Davis, who gifts us with a small, recurring character. Aaron Yoo also makes a sizable donation to the film’s levity in a role that gets my vote as most convincing performance of a near-30-year-old playing a high schooler. (Move over, Rachel McAdams.) But the real casting coup is David Morse, opposite LaBeouf, as the suspicious, possibly murderous neighbor. Until our suspicions are confirmed, Morse is able to walk a thin line that allows the viewer to second guess how evil his character actually is.
As good as most of the surrounding cast is, I don’t want to distract from what LaBeouf does here. He’s the main attraction. He turned a fluffy piece of YA pulp into the perfect spring film, and a perennially watchable one, at that. Ultimately, Disturbia works because LaBeouf is better than the film. Albeit awkward and gangly, not befitting of the traditional star mold, the young actor was ready for a larger stage.
While Hollywood-at-large prepared LaBeouf for leading man status, Steven Spielberg can take credit for taking particular notice in the actor’s everyman sensibility. Always one willing to groom an actor into stardom, the Disturbia producer apparently arranged for LaBeouf to be in contention for the leading role after being wooed by his performance in Holes.³
It actually makes perfect sense that Spielberg was a producer here; his shadow is subtly cast on the film - more conspicuously than something like Super 8, at least. The Amblin films are the roadmap for this type of light yet terrifying suburban film that’s able to deftly rope genre elements into a mainstream production. Spielberg went on to be a major part of LaBeouf’s short-lived but large mainstream success, as the producer of Transformersand director of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
That we’ll never get to see the logical extension of who LaBeouf was as an actor ten years ago is a serious shroud over the exercise of watching Disturbia now. While we might see more decent performances like the one he turned out in American Honey, last year, I’m not holding my breath for any serious resurgence as a leading man. In fact, the other 2016 film he starred in, Man Down, just made headlines for its ridiculously low U.K. box office numbers, which equated to just a single admittance.
I hadn't even heard of Man Down wasn’t until I saw it on the marquee at my local cineplex. And right then, it was hard to remember that, not long ago, Shia LaBeouf was a shoe-in for Hollywood’s next everyman.
¹ Per IMDB trivia, the copyright holders of Cornell Woolrich's short story 'It Had to Be Murder', which Rear Windowwas based on, sued DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, and Steven Spielberg for using the story without permission. In 2010, a federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling, "The main plots are similar only at a high, unprotectable level of generality ... Where Disturbia is rife with sub-plots, the short story has none. The setting and mood of the short story are static and tense, whereas the setting and mood of Disturbia are more dynamic and peppered with humor and teen romance."
² Remember how Out Cold used Casablanca as a significant influence, but really it was its own thing, especially since snowboarding wasn’t a thing that existed in the 1940s? Of course you do. Well, this is kinda like that.
³ More like Roles, amirite!?
After proving he could make the transition from small screen to silver screen with Disney’s Holes in 2003, Hollywood primed him with bit parts on larger stages, like I Robot, The Greatest Game Ever Played and Constantine, before it was apparent LaBeouf had an undeniable leading-man chemistry that belied his goofy looks and left-of-center mannerisms. Then, in 2007, came his breakthrough.
Though his turn as Sam Witwicky in Michael Bay’s woefully underappreciated 2007 reboot of the Transformersfranchise is likely what most will attribute his breakthrough to, a few months prior was LaBeouf’s real tour de force: Disturbia. With Disturbia, LaBeouf did the unspeakable. Almost single handedly, he made a compelling film out of the following elevator pitch: Rear Window for Teens by that guy who made Two for the Money.
Disturbia was a pretty solid hit, enjoying three straight weeks atop the box office (before Spider-Man 3 came to town), but for the past 10 years, after being originally chided by those that consider themselves bastions of good taste (like OV’s own Steve Cuff) as....well, Rear Window for Teens by that guy who made Two for the Money, the film has been neglected enough to be considered underrated, marking it worthy of a look at how well it plays a decade later.
Lore has it Disturbia’s script was originally penned and sold in the 1990s, but wasn’t produced due to Christopher Reeve’s (dreadful) straight remake of Rear Window...until it was taken back off the shelf ten years later as a Shia LaBeouf vehicle. Now, if you’re one of these skeptical hoity toity film snobs that can’t imagine enjoying anything that dares sully the annals of cinema history, you might ask me, “How can this Rear Windowrip off possibly be a success?” Great question.
Basically, this film doesn’t try to adhere closely to Rear Window at all outside of a point of influence. Another straight remake would have been annoying and dull. Instead, Disturbia acts as a YA reimagining of Rear Windowwhere Hitchcock’s classic acts as motivation. And, most significant to its success, is how much it fully commits to a sincerity that good YA fiction necessitates. It really believes in its abilities and its characters. That it’s similar to the plot of Rear Window is really the end of its interest in that film as source material.¹ Director D.J. Caruso and company are much more interested in telling their version of this story.²
Kale (LaBeouf) lives in suburban California (if shooting location is any indication), and while on house arrest, as a result of punching his high school teacher (in the wake of his father’s sudden passing), he becomes accustomed to watching his neighbors as a substitute for television. After hearing on the local news that a murderer is at large, Kale has reason to believe one of his neighbors is a prime suspect.
Though the title, setting and plot of Disturbia may suggest a subtext about the deep dark secrets of suburban life, the film isn’t really interested at all in developing that as a theme - which is one of its strengths. First of all, the opening sequence of Blue Velvet did that better than it will probably ever be done. Second, why cover such well-tread ground? Third, and most importantly, Disturbia couldn’t care less about dealing with such larger themes. Not because it lacks ambition, but because the filmmakers are just so invested in its foreground: chemistry and tone.
Now, I don’t want to suggest that, on principal, eschewing themes and subtext for character investment is always the right choice. For instance, this year’s Get Out was athletic enough to concurrently develop and indulge in the best interest of its characters, genre and subtext. But Disturbia is not that movie. The reason why this film’s decision to forgo an indulgence in the subtext it set up (the hidden nefariousness of suburbia) is partially the right choice is because of timing. Disturbia is the perfect spring movie. By mid-April, the seemingly interminable winter has passed, the sun is out until late evening and foliage is in bloom. Moviegoers want light, entertaining fare that celebrates a new, brighter season. This is what Disturbia (or its studio execs) understood. It’s also an attribute that may be easily forgotten or lost when viewed outside of its original context.
With ambitions of being the epitome of a breezy spring film for (nearly) all ages came restrictions for the filmmakers. Particularly, being relegated to PG-13 Thriller status. The PG-13 Thriller is a tough cookie to bake in a way that pleases both mainstream and genre audiences. But the film’s opening passages give us reason to believe it can walk this tightrope; it’s immediately funny, bubbling, charismatic and startling. Outside of LaBeouf, an ability to juggle tone is the core of the film’s success. Figuring out how to make a film of this release, genre and rating without being corny, boring or contrived was Disturbia’s biggest hurdle.
As an example of its aptitude, in an early scene, there’s a 90 second passage where LaBeouf shifts from mocking paparazzi TV to having diarrhea to mourning his father, before cutting to him listening to “Then I Got High,” all without being clumsy. But the film’s not entirely perfect - there’s a particular passage where LaBeouf nearly plagiarizes the climax of When Harry Met Sally - though I would argue that even its missteps are charming.
Part of the film’s tonal gymnastics is also balancing the film’s budding romance - another tenet of the YA recipe. The relationship between Kale and the new girl-next-door Ashley (Sarah Roehmer) is a significant part of the film, and what gives it narrative steam. It’s definitely a little weird that Ashley is so receptive to Kale, considering she’s caught him spying on her at all times of day with his huge binoculars, but the transition from Kale’s voyeuristic interest in Ashley to her confrontation of his spying, and finally to their mutual affection ends up injecting a lot of levity to the film’s atmosphere.
The couple’s relationship grows as they, along with Kale’s affable best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), join together to foil his neighbor’s murderous intents. The device of merging Kale and Ashley for this plotline works as a nice alchemy of character and narrative structure. A lesser film would’ve kept the female love interest as a cheerleader on the sidelines, but Disturbia is smart to give her agency, adding a more interesting group dynamic to the protagonists. That the romance is able to bolster the film at all despite the less-than-wonderful Sarah Roehmer - who seemingly only had an acting career because of her timely resemblance to Mischa Barton - is further testament to LaBeouf’s leading man charisma.
Director D.J. Caruso was also smart to pepper the cast with very capable veteran talent, like Carrie Ann Moss and even a then-unknown Viola Davis, who gifts us with a small, recurring character. Aaron Yoo also makes a sizable donation to the film’s levity in a role that gets my vote as most convincing performance of a near-30-year-old playing a high schooler. (Move over, Rachel McAdams.) But the real casting coup is David Morse, opposite LaBeouf, as the suspicious, possibly murderous neighbor. Until our suspicions are confirmed, Morse is able to walk a thin line that allows the viewer to second guess how evil his character actually is.
As good as most of the surrounding cast is, I don’t want to distract from what LaBeouf does here. He’s the main attraction. He turned a fluffy piece of YA pulp into the perfect spring film, and a perennially watchable one, at that. Ultimately, Disturbia works because LaBeouf is better than the film. Albeit awkward and gangly, not befitting of the traditional star mold, the young actor was ready for a larger stage.
While Hollywood-at-large prepared LaBeouf for leading man status, Steven Spielberg can take credit for taking particular notice in the actor’s everyman sensibility. Always one willing to groom an actor into stardom, the Disturbia producer apparently arranged for LaBeouf to be in contention for the leading role after being wooed by his performance in Holes.³
It actually makes perfect sense that Spielberg was a producer here; his shadow is subtly cast on the film - more conspicuously than something like Super 8, at least. The Amblin films are the roadmap for this type of light yet terrifying suburban film that’s able to deftly rope genre elements into a mainstream production. Spielberg went on to be a major part of LaBeouf’s short-lived but large mainstream success, as the producer of Transformersand director of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
That we’ll never get to see the logical extension of who LaBeouf was as an actor ten years ago is a serious shroud over the exercise of watching Disturbia now. While we might see more decent performances like the one he turned out in American Honey, last year, I’m not holding my breath for any serious resurgence as a leading man. In fact, the other 2016 film he starred in, Man Down, just made headlines for its ridiculously low U.K. box office numbers, which equated to just a single admittance.
I hadn't even heard of Man Down wasn’t until I saw it on the marquee at my local cineplex. And right then, it was hard to remember that, not long ago, Shia LaBeouf was a shoe-in for Hollywood’s next everyman.
¹ Per IMDB trivia, the copyright holders of Cornell Woolrich's short story 'It Had to Be Murder', which Rear Windowwas based on, sued DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, and Steven Spielberg for using the story without permission. In 2010, a federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling, "The main plots are similar only at a high, unprotectable level of generality ... Where Disturbia is rife with sub-plots, the short story has none. The setting and mood of the short story are static and tense, whereas the setting and mood of Disturbia are more dynamic and peppered with humor and teen romance."
² Remember how Out Cold used Casablanca as a significant influence, but really it was its own thing, especially since snowboarding wasn’t a thing that existed in the 1940s? Of course you do. Well, this is kinda like that.
³ More like Roles, amirite!?
10 Years Later: Shia LaBeouf, Disturbia and Perfecting the Spring MovieAPRIL 12, 2017 BY SHAWN GLINISAlthough it’s not uncommon for a child star to adjust to adulthood with a sharp turn toward more “mature” work, Shia LaBeouf’s career has been unique. A taxonomy of child star fall-from-graces would surely be long enough to keep a wikipedia editor busy, but the pure range of LaBeouf’s descent makes it one of the more notable instances in recent memory. Before a pseudo-performance artist with a handful of plagiarism accusations and Gorilla Glue-like adherence to a gutter punk aesthetic, LaBeouf had the makings of Hollywood’s next A-list leading man.
After proving he could make the transition from small screen to silver screen with Disney’s Holes in 2003, Hollywood primed him with bit parts on larger stages, like I Robot, The Greatest Game Ever Played and Constantine, before it was apparent LaBeouf had an undeniable leading-man chemistry that belied his goofy looks and left-of-center mannerisms. Then, in 2007, came his breakthrough.
Though his turn as Sam Witwicky in Michael Bay’s woefully underappreciated 2007 reboot of the Transformersfranchise is likely what most will attribute his breakthrough to, a few months prior was LaBeouf’s real tour de force: Disturbia. With Disturbia, LaBeouf did the unspeakable. Almost single handedly, he made a compelling film out of the following elevator pitch: Rear Window for Teens by that guy who made Two for the Money.
Disturbia was a pretty solid hit, enjoying three straight weeks atop the box office (before Spider-Man 3 came to town), but for the past 10 years, after being originally chided by those that consider themselves bastions of good taste (like OV’s own Steve Cuff) as....well, Rear Window for Teens by that guy who made Two for the Money, the film has been neglected enough to be considered underrated, marking it worthy of a look at how well it plays a decade later.
Lore has it Disturbia’s script was originally penned and sold in the 1990s, but wasn’t produced due to Christopher Reeve’s (dreadful) straight remake of Rear Window...until it was taken back off the shelf ten years later as a Shia LaBeouf vehicle. Now, if you’re one of these skeptical hoity toity film snobs that can’t imagine enjoying anything that dares sully the annals of cinema history, you might ask me, “How can this Rear Windowrip off possibly be a success?” Great question.
Basically, this film doesn’t try to adhere closely to Rear Window at all outside of a point of influence. Another straight remake would have been annoying and dull. Instead, Disturbia acts as a YA reimagining of Rear Windowwhere Hitchcock’s classic acts as motivation. And, most significant to its success, is how much it fully commits to a sincerity that good YA fiction necessitates. It really believes in its abilities and its characters. That it’s similar to the plot of Rear Window is really the end of its interest in that film as source material.¹ Director D.J. Caruso and company are much more interested in telling their version of this story.²
Kale (LaBeouf) lives in suburban California (if shooting location is any indication), and while on house arrest, as a result of punching his high school teacher (in the wake of his father’s sudden passing), he becomes accustomed to watching his neighbors as a substitute for television. After hearing on the local news that a murderer is at large, Kale has reason to believe one of his neighbors is a prime suspect.
Though the title, setting and plot of Disturbia may suggest a subtext about the deep dark secrets of suburban life, the film isn’t really interested at all in developing that as a theme - which is one of its strengths. First of all, the opening sequence of Blue Velvet did that better than it will probably ever be done. Second, why cover such well-tread ground? Third, and most importantly, Disturbia couldn’t care less about dealing with such larger themes. Not because it lacks ambition, but because the filmmakers are just so invested in its foreground: chemistry and tone.
Now, I don’t want to suggest that, on principal, eschewing themes and subtext for character investment is always the right choice. For instance, this year’s Get Out was athletic enough to concurrently develop and indulge in the best interest of its characters, genre and subtext. But Disturbia is not that movie. The reason why this film’s decision to forgo an indulgence in the subtext it set up (the hidden nefariousness of suburbia) is partially the right choice is because of timing. Disturbia is the perfect spring movie. By mid-April, the seemingly interminable winter has passed, the sun is out until late evening and foliage is in bloom. Moviegoers want light, entertaining fare that celebrates a new, brighter season. This is what Disturbia (or its studio execs) understood. It’s also an attribute that may be easily forgotten or lost when viewed outside of its original context.
With ambitions of being the epitome of a breezy spring film for (nearly) all ages came restrictions for the filmmakers. Particularly, being relegated to PG-13 Thriller status. The PG-13 Thriller is a tough cookie to bake in a way that pleases both mainstream and genre audiences. But the film’s opening passages give us reason to believe it can walk this tightrope; it’s immediately funny, bubbling, charismatic and startling. Outside of LaBeouf, an ability to juggle tone is the core of the film’s success. Figuring out how to make a film of this release, genre and rating without being corny, boring or contrived was Disturbia’s biggest hurdle.
As an example of its aptitude, in an early scene, there’s a 90 second passage where LaBeouf shifts from mocking paparazzi TV to having diarrhea to mourning his father, before cutting to him listening to “Then I Got High,” all without being clumsy. But the film’s not entirely perfect - there’s a particular passage where LaBeouf nearly plagiarizes the climax of When Harry Met Sally - though I would argue that even its missteps are charming.
Part of the film’s tonal gymnastics is also balancing the film’s budding romance - another tenet of the YA recipe. The relationship between Kale and the new girl-next-door Ashley (Sarah Roehmer) is a significant part of the film, and what gives it narrative steam. It’s definitely a little weird that Ashley is so receptive to Kale, considering she’s caught him spying on her at all times of day with his huge binoculars, but the transition from Kale’s voyeuristic interest in Ashley to her confrontation of his spying, and finally to their mutual affection ends up injecting a lot of levity to the film’s atmosphere.
The couple’s relationship grows as they, along with Kale’s affable best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), join together to foil his neighbor’s murderous intents. The device of merging Kale and Ashley for this plotline works as a nice alchemy of character and narrative structure. A lesser film would’ve kept the female love interest as a cheerleader on the sidelines, but Disturbia is smart to give her agency, adding a more interesting group dynamic to the protagonists. That the romance is able to bolster the film at all despite the less-than-wonderful Sarah Roehmer - who seemingly only had an acting career because of her timely resemblance to Mischa Barton - is further testament to LaBeouf’s leading man charisma.
Director D.J. Caruso was also smart to pepper the cast with very capable veteran talent, like Carrie Ann Moss and even a then-unknown Viola Davis, who gifts us with a small, recurring character. Aaron Yoo also makes a sizable donation to the film’s levity in a role that gets my vote as most convincing performance of a near-30-year-old playing a high schooler. (Move over, Rachel McAdams.) But the real casting coup is David Morse, opposite LaBeouf, as the suspicious, possibly murderous neighbor. Until our suspicions are confirmed, Morse is able to walk a thin line that allows the viewer to second guess how evil his character actually is.
As good as most of the surrounding cast is, I don’t want to distract from what LaBeouf does here. He’s the main attraction. He turned a fluffy piece of YA pulp into the perfect spring film, and a perennially watchable one, at that. Ultimately, Disturbia works because LaBeouf is better than the film. Albeit awkward and gangly, not befitting of the traditional star mold, the young actor was ready for a larger stage.
While Hollywood-at-large prepared LaBeouf for leading man status, Steven Spielberg can take credit for taking particular notice in the actor’s everyman sensibility. Always one willing to groom an actor into stardom, the Disturbia producer apparently arranged for LaBeouf to be in contention for the leading role after being wooed by his performance in Holes.³
It actually makes perfect sense that Spielberg was a producer here; his shadow is subtly cast on the film - more conspicuously than something like Super 8, at least. The Amblin films are the roadmap for this type of light yet terrifying suburban film that’s able to deftly rope genre elements into a mainstream production. Spielberg went on to be a major part of LaBeouf’s short-lived but large mainstream success, as the producer of Transformersand director of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
That we’ll never get to see the logical extension of who LaBeouf was as an actor ten years ago is a serious shroud over the exercise of watching Disturbia now. While we might see more decent performances like the one he turned out in American Honey, last year, I’m not holding my breath for any serious resurgence as a leading man. In fact, the other 2016 film he starred in, Man Down, just made headlines for its ridiculously low U.K. box office numbers, which equated to just a single admittance.
I hadn't even heard of Man Down wasn’t until I saw it on the marquee at my local cineplex. And right then, it was hard to remember that, not long ago, Shia LaBeouf was a shoe-in for Hollywood’s next everyman.
¹ Per IMDB trivia, the copyright holders of Cornell Woolrich's short story 'It Had to Be Murder', which Rear Windowwas based on, sued DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, and Steven Spielberg for using the story without permission. In 2010, a federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling, "The main plots are similar only at a high, unprotectable level of generality ... Where Disturbia is rife with sub-plots, the short story has none. The setting and mood of the short story are static and tense, whereas the setting and mood of Disturbia are more dynamic and peppered with humor and teen romance."
² Remember how Out Cold used Casablanca as a significant influence, but really it was its own thing, especially since snowboarding wasn’t a thing that existed in the 1940s? Of course you do. Well, this is kinda like that.
³ More like Roles, amirite!?
After proving he could make the transition from small screen to silver screen with Disney’s Holes in 2003, Hollywood primed him with bit parts on larger stages, like I Robot, The Greatest Game Ever Played and Constantine, before it was apparent LaBeouf had an undeniable leading-man chemistry that belied his goofy looks and left-of-center mannerisms. Then, in 2007, came his breakthrough.
Though his turn as Sam Witwicky in Michael Bay’s woefully underappreciated 2007 reboot of the Transformersfranchise is likely what most will attribute his breakthrough to, a few months prior was LaBeouf’s real tour de force: Disturbia. With Disturbia, LaBeouf did the unspeakable. Almost single handedly, he made a compelling film out of the following elevator pitch: Rear Window for Teens by that guy who made Two for the Money.
Disturbia was a pretty solid hit, enjoying three straight weeks atop the box office (before Spider-Man 3 came to town), but for the past 10 years, after being originally chided by those that consider themselves bastions of good taste (like OV’s own Steve Cuff) as....well, Rear Window for Teens by that guy who made Two for the Money, the film has been neglected enough to be considered underrated, marking it worthy of a look at how well it plays a decade later.
Lore has it Disturbia’s script was originally penned and sold in the 1990s, but wasn’t produced due to Christopher Reeve’s (dreadful) straight remake of Rear Window...until it was taken back off the shelf ten years later as a Shia LaBeouf vehicle. Now, if you’re one of these skeptical hoity toity film snobs that can’t imagine enjoying anything that dares sully the annals of cinema history, you might ask me, “How can this Rear Windowrip off possibly be a success?” Great question.
Basically, this film doesn’t try to adhere closely to Rear Window at all outside of a point of influence. Another straight remake would have been annoying and dull. Instead, Disturbia acts as a YA reimagining of Rear Windowwhere Hitchcock’s classic acts as motivation. And, most significant to its success, is how much it fully commits to a sincerity that good YA fiction necessitates. It really believes in its abilities and its characters. That it’s similar to the plot of Rear Window is really the end of its interest in that film as source material.¹ Director D.J. Caruso and company are much more interested in telling their version of this story.²
Kale (LaBeouf) lives in suburban California (if shooting location is any indication), and while on house arrest, as a result of punching his high school teacher (in the wake of his father’s sudden passing), he becomes accustomed to watching his neighbors as a substitute for television. After hearing on the local news that a murderer is at large, Kale has reason to believe one of his neighbors is a prime suspect.
Though the title, setting and plot of Disturbia may suggest a subtext about the deep dark secrets of suburban life, the film isn’t really interested at all in developing that as a theme - which is one of its strengths. First of all, the opening sequence of Blue Velvet did that better than it will probably ever be done. Second, why cover such well-tread ground? Third, and most importantly, Disturbia couldn’t care less about dealing with such larger themes. Not because it lacks ambition, but because the filmmakers are just so invested in its foreground: chemistry and tone.
Now, I don’t want to suggest that, on principal, eschewing themes and subtext for character investment is always the right choice. For instance, this year’s Get Out was athletic enough to concurrently develop and indulge in the best interest of its characters, genre and subtext. But Disturbia is not that movie. The reason why this film’s decision to forgo an indulgence in the subtext it set up (the hidden nefariousness of suburbia) is partially the right choice is because of timing. Disturbia is the perfect spring movie. By mid-April, the seemingly interminable winter has passed, the sun is out until late evening and foliage is in bloom. Moviegoers want light, entertaining fare that celebrates a new, brighter season. This is what Disturbia (or its studio execs) understood. It’s also an attribute that may be easily forgotten or lost when viewed outside of its original context.
With ambitions of being the epitome of a breezy spring film for (nearly) all ages came restrictions for the filmmakers. Particularly, being relegated to PG-13 Thriller status. The PG-13 Thriller is a tough cookie to bake in a way that pleases both mainstream and genre audiences. But the film’s opening passages give us reason to believe it can walk this tightrope; it’s immediately funny, bubbling, charismatic and startling. Outside of LaBeouf, an ability to juggle tone is the core of the film’s success. Figuring out how to make a film of this release, genre and rating without being corny, boring or contrived was Disturbia’s biggest hurdle.
As an example of its aptitude, in an early scene, there’s a 90 second passage where LaBeouf shifts from mocking paparazzi TV to having diarrhea to mourning his father, before cutting to him listening to “Then I Got High,” all without being clumsy. But the film’s not entirely perfect - there’s a particular passage where LaBeouf nearly plagiarizes the climax of When Harry Met Sally - though I would argue that even its missteps are charming.
Part of the film’s tonal gymnastics is also balancing the film’s budding romance - another tenet of the YA recipe. The relationship between Kale and the new girl-next-door Ashley (Sarah Roehmer) is a significant part of the film, and what gives it narrative steam. It’s definitely a little weird that Ashley is so receptive to Kale, considering she’s caught him spying on her at all times of day with his huge binoculars, but the transition from Kale’s voyeuristic interest in Ashley to her confrontation of his spying, and finally to their mutual affection ends up injecting a lot of levity to the film’s atmosphere.
The couple’s relationship grows as they, along with Kale’s affable best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), join together to foil his neighbor’s murderous intents. The device of merging Kale and Ashley for this plotline works as a nice alchemy of character and narrative structure. A lesser film would’ve kept the female love interest as a cheerleader on the sidelines, but Disturbia is smart to give her agency, adding a more interesting group dynamic to the protagonists. That the romance is able to bolster the film at all despite the less-than-wonderful Sarah Roehmer - who seemingly only had an acting career because of her timely resemblance to Mischa Barton - is further testament to LaBeouf’s leading man charisma.
Director D.J. Caruso was also smart to pepper the cast with very capable veteran talent, like Carrie Ann Moss and even a then-unknown Viola Davis, who gifts us with a small, recurring character. Aaron Yoo also makes a sizable donation to the film’s levity in a role that gets my vote as most convincing performance of a near-30-year-old playing a high schooler. (Move over, Rachel McAdams.) But the real casting coup is David Morse, opposite LaBeouf, as the suspicious, possibly murderous neighbor. Until our suspicions are confirmed, Morse is able to walk a thin line that allows the viewer to second guess how evil his character actually is.
As good as most of the surrounding cast is, I don’t want to distract from what LaBeouf does here. He’s the main attraction. He turned a fluffy piece of YA pulp into the perfect spring film, and a perennially watchable one, at that. Ultimately, Disturbia works because LaBeouf is better than the film. Albeit awkward and gangly, not befitting of the traditional star mold, the young actor was ready for a larger stage.
While Hollywood-at-large prepared LaBeouf for leading man status, Steven Spielberg can take credit for taking particular notice in the actor’s everyman sensibility. Always one willing to groom an actor into stardom, the Disturbia producer apparently arranged for LaBeouf to be in contention for the leading role after being wooed by his performance in Holes.³
It actually makes perfect sense that Spielberg was a producer here; his shadow is subtly cast on the film - more conspicuously than something like Super 8, at least. The Amblin films are the roadmap for this type of light yet terrifying suburban film that’s able to deftly rope genre elements into a mainstream production. Spielberg went on to be a major part of LaBeouf’s short-lived but large mainstream success, as the producer of Transformersand director of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
That we’ll never get to see the logical extension of who LaBeouf was as an actor ten years ago is a serious shroud over the exercise of watching Disturbia now. While we might see more decent performances like the one he turned out in American Honey, last year, I’m not holding my breath for any serious resurgence as a leading man. In fact, the other 2016 film he starred in, Man Down, just made headlines for its ridiculously low U.K. box office numbers, which equated to just a single admittance.
I hadn't even heard of Man Down wasn’t until I saw it on the marquee at my local cineplex. And right then, it was hard to remember that, not long ago, Shia LaBeouf was a shoe-in for Hollywood’s next everyman.
¹ Per IMDB trivia, the copyright holders of Cornell Woolrich's short story 'It Had to Be Murder', which Rear Windowwas based on, sued DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, and Steven Spielberg for using the story without permission. In 2010, a federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling, "The main plots are similar only at a high, unprotectable level of generality ... Where Disturbia is rife with sub-plots, the short story has none. The setting and mood of the short story are static and tense, whereas the setting and mood of Disturbia are more dynamic and peppered with humor and teen romance."
² Remember how Out Cold used Casablanca as a significant influence, but really it was its own thing, especially since snowboarding wasn’t a thing that existed in the 1940s? Of course you do. Well, this is kinda like that.
³ More like Roles, amirite!?
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Rear Window Ethics Part 1/5
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