[4]

Samuel L. Jackson stars as an ex-cop trying to raise two small children on his own. But when Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington move in next door, Jackson’s character has a problem living next to an interracial couple. He goes above and beyond to try and intimidate the new neighbors into leaving the neighborhood, until its pretty much all-out war between them.

Other than to show that racism isn’t just a one-way street, I’m not sure why this story needs told. It’s an ugly role for Jackson to play, and an ugly movie to watch unfold. The film tries half-heartedly to humanize Jackson’s character by making him care for his two kids, but he’s otherwise such a prude that he quickly becomes a bizarre sort of cartoon character. Unfortunately, Wilson and Washington’s roles are underwritten so much that there’s little else to latch onto in Lakeview Terrace.

Directed by Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men)