Jodie Foster's 'full meal'

Arthur J Pais

Ignoring those critics who called the movie too predictable and gory, the Jodie Foster thriller Panic Room opened up a box office treasure, earning about $30 million in three days, and giving Foster a solid hit in over a decade after The Silence Of The Lambs (along with Anthony Hopkins) made her an international star.

Directed by David Fincher, Panic Room, is on its way to become his second most successful film following Seven, another atmospheric suspense yarn that had scared up over $100 million in North America in 1995.

Filled with dazzling camera work and pulse-quickening Hitchcockian scenes, Panic Room is a bigger credit to Foster than Lambs. For in that movie, she had to share acting credits with her formidable costar, Anthony Hopkins.

Two-time Oscar winner Foster stepped into Panic Room, when Nicole Kidman opted out following a knee injury. She does offer an interesting portrait of a woman who seems overwhelmed in the beginning but gathers up tremendous wit and guts.

She plays a recently divorced New York mother Meg Altman, who has moved into a dream mansion with her teenage diabetic daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart). The two are forced to hide on their first night in the house from three burglars in a concrete-and-steel encased room with video monitors showing most of the house, a first-aid kit and a phone. But no insulin.

How Meg, with the help of Sarah, tries to outdo the three men is the main crux of the movie.

Of the three burglars, Forest Whitaker (as Burnham), is most fascinating. He is a builder of panic rooms, and he knew it had money hidden there. But he had not expected the new owner to take possession of the house -- worse, move into the secret room. 'I spent the last 12 years of my life building rooms like this specifically to keep out people like us,' he tells his partners Junior (Jared Leto) and Raoul (Dwight Yoakam).

Among the movie's weak spots is the sequence in which the burglars quarrel among themselves, provide the mother an opportunity to get out of the panic room and look for the insulin.

The movie's visual treats include its stylized opening credits sequence, with huge letters superimposed on the shining Manhattan office buildings. Then there is the dazzling sequence in which one continuous shot takes us to Meg and Sarah, asleep in separate rooms on separate floors, then drops to the main floor to show the burglars in the front, and then races to the back of the building and rushes to the front door lock to show the burglars. The shot will be discussed for a long time. The movie is photographed in dark tones by Conrad W Hall and Darius Khondhji.

Despite a disappointing final quarter and many big holes in the plot, the movie --- which would remind older moviegoers of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window as well as Wait Until Dark --- received prolonged applause and had many shows sold out.

'I think what really was the key to its success was that it was a full meal for adults and younger viewers,' Jeff Blake, president of international marketing for Sony Pictures Entertainment, told reporters. 'David Fincher directing and Jodie Foster starring gave the movie a great pedigree for adults but played as a really exciting thriller for younger viewers.'

This Friday, Panic Room will be challenged by another thriller, High Crimes, starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd.

If it holds well, Panic Room, might reach the $100-million benchmark.