Seventeen-year-old Kale is surly and introverted since he lost his father in a violent car accident, for which he feels responsible. One day, Kale punches his Spanish teacher who had made useless allusions to his deceased father, and for his act, the boy is placed under house arrest for the entire summer period, forced to stay home with an ankle monitor that alerts the police if he leaves a 300-meter radius from his home. Bored with the daily routine, Kale begins to take an interest in the private lives of his neighbors, whom he spies on with binoculars from his bedroom window. Between a glance at the newcomer Ashley who is sunbathing by the pool and a look at Mr. Carlson who is cheating on his wife with the cleaning lady, Kale comes across Mr. Tarner, a mysterious neighbor who seems to be the man who kidnaps and kills young women as reported on television. The boy begins to investigate.
A true cinematic phenomenon of the past U.S. season, "Disturbia" managed to gross a considerable sum at the box office, becoming a real hit among young people and cementing Shia LaBeouf's (Transformers) status as a star capable of drawing crowds to theaters with his name alone. In reality, the small thriller directed by D.J. Caruso (Disturbing Behavior) and produced by Spielberg's Dreamworks did not seem to promise such success, as the story of the voyeur entangled in a thriller situation due to his curiosity has been told so many times and in so many ways, serving up a film without surprises from the outset. Yet, despite the absolute lack of originality and the predictability of every plot twist, "Disturbia" manages to be quite enjoyable, both for those who know "Rear Window" by Hitchcock by heart and for teenagers with still innocent minds.
The nearly two hours of the film fly by without ever boring the viewer, thanks to a skillful blend of genres that effectively mixes family and existential drama (in the first twenty minutes), teen comedy (the central part of the film), and thriller with horror elements in the long final climax. Thus, Caruso, with a screenplay by Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth, gives the audience a film simple in structure and predictable in its twists, but with a good pace, some easy scares, and a touch of the macabre in the horror finale.
What could be considered the original twist of a well-known story is the technological accent given to the protagonist's voyeuristic endeavor, which is not limited to the camera lens and binoculars to observe his neighbors' antics but uses an array of modern technology, including video cameras, digital cameras, and videophones, to add a touch of modernity that would make one reflect a lot on the contemporary situation of the common individual's privacy.
The cast is another strong point of "Disturbia," which boasts, in addition to the already mentioned and excellent protagonist Shia LaBeouf, David Morse (The Green Mile) as the mysterious neighbor, Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity in the "Matrix" saga) as the protagonist's mother, and the young and fascinating Sarah Roemer as the new neighbor.
It's not a film that will be remembered in cinema history, but "Disturbia" manages to entertain with brazen nonchalance and rare effectiveness, despite dealing with a story now classic for the thriller genre. Definitely enjoyable.
Trivia. The fascinating title "Disturbia" is a play on words to combine the terms "disturb" (disturb) and "suburbia" (suburb).
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