The movie Lakeview Terrace is a movie about a racist Los Angeles Police Department sergeant who terrorizes his new next door neighbors because they are an interracial couple. The sergeant, Abel Turner, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is a single father of two children. Turner is particularly tough on his two children, but seems especially tough after they witness the next door neighbors, Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington), having sexual relations in their pool. The theme that is presented throughout the movie is a theme of racial intolerance.
The movie begins with Chris and Lisa Mattson moving into the Lakeview Terrace neighborhood as Abel's children, Marcus and Celia are on their way to school. After spying to see who his new neighbors are , Abel sees Chris and Lisa kissing, and he is disgusted. He is also disgusted at the fact that his two children witness Chris and Lisa having sexual relations in their pool. Later that evening, Abel positions his floodlights to shine into Chris and Lisa's bedroom window. They awaken in the middle of the night unhappy about the lights, and after some discussion, Chris decides he will discuss with Abel at the next opportunity. When Chris is finally able to speak with Abel about the lights, Abel maintains that the lights are part of his complex security system and won't be able to do anything. The next day, Abel shows his intolerance once again by telling Chris that no matter how much he listens to rap music, he will always be white. This scene was the first scene where Abel verbally showed he may in fact be a racist; it was also the scene where he welcomed Chris to the neighborhood. Abel also alludes to the fact of being a possible racist in the bar scene when he describes how his wife was killed. He explains that his wife was with her white boss at the time of her car accident. He goes on to explain that he didn't know why his wife would have been in the car with her white boss when she should have been at work, providing at-home care. Here, Abel is implying that his wife was unfaithful to him, which may explain why Abel does not like interracial couples.
The director used the technique of wild-fire motifs in the movie to depict the toxic relationship between Turner and the Mattson's. The raging, burning wild-fires in the movie shows how toxic the relationship between the neighbors had grown from the beginning of the film. The Mattson's and Turner have a heated exchange outside after the Mattson's plant a line of trees on the boundary line between the two properties. The exchange almost leads to an altercation, but both parties are able to hold it off and go their separate ways. The director also used the technique of low-key lighting in the film – this type of lighting puts most of the set in shadow. The scene where we see low-key lighting would be when the Mattson's are awakened out of their sleep from Turner's bright floodlights. Their bedroom was dark enough and when the light shined through the windows, it cast Chris's shadow along the wall as he got out of bed to check to see what was going on with the lighting. The darkness of the low-key lighting goes with the theme of racial intolerance in that if one acts out like Turner, it can make you a pretty dark person.
In conclusion, the theme of racial intolerance is ironic in this movie because a person would feel that having a police officer as a neighbor would be a good thing. In this case, it was not a good thing at all. The Mattson's felt all but safe.
The movie begins with Chris and Lisa Mattson moving into the Lakeview Terrace neighborhood as Abel's children, Marcus and Celia are on their way to school. After spying to see who his new neighbors are , Abel sees Chris and Lisa kissing, and he is disgusted. He is also disgusted at the fact that his two children witness Chris and Lisa having sexual relations in their pool. Later that evening, Abel positions his floodlights to shine into Chris and Lisa's bedroom window. They awaken in the middle of the night unhappy about the lights, and after some discussion, Chris decides he will discuss with Abel at the next opportunity. When Chris is finally able to speak with Abel about the lights, Abel maintains that the lights are part of his complex security system and won't be able to do anything. The next day, Abel shows his intolerance once again by telling Chris that no matter how much he listens to rap music, he will always be white. This scene was the first scene where Abel verbally showed he may in fact be a racist; it was also the scene where he welcomed Chris to the neighborhood. Abel also alludes to the fact of being a possible racist in the bar scene when he describes how his wife was killed. He explains that his wife was with her white boss at the time of her car accident. He goes on to explain that he didn't know why his wife would have been in the car with her white boss when she should have been at work, providing at-home care. Here, Abel is implying that his wife was unfaithful to him, which may explain why Abel does not like interracial couples.
The director used the technique of wild-fire motifs in the movie to depict the toxic relationship between Turner and the Mattson's. The raging, burning wild-fires in the movie shows how toxic the relationship between the neighbors had grown from the beginning of the film. The Mattson's and Turner have a heated exchange outside after the Mattson's plant a line of trees on the boundary line between the two properties. The exchange almost leads to an altercation, but both parties are able to hold it off and go their separate ways. The director also used the technique of low-key lighting in the film – this type of lighting puts most of the set in shadow. The scene where we see low-key lighting would be when the Mattson's are awakened out of their sleep from Turner's bright floodlights. Their bedroom was dark enough and when the light shined through the windows, it cast Chris's shadow along the wall as he got out of bed to check to see what was going on with the lighting. The darkness of the low-key lighting goes with the theme of racial intolerance in that if one acts out like Turner, it can make you a pretty dark person.
In conclusion, the theme of racial intolerance is ironic in this movie because a person would feel that having a police officer as a neighbor would be a good thing. In this case, it was not a good thing at all. The Mattson's felt all but safe.