Decent re-imagining of Rear Window

Rating: 7/10 (27 February 2009)

This isn't a bad movie.
It's not a quick movie to get your juices flowing - the first half to two-thirds deals with the set-up at a fairly leisurely pace - but the climax sets a high level of tension of the "killer in the house" variety.
Shia LeBoeuf as the youngster under house arrest does very well in portraying the decent lad adversely affected by his father's death: he does less well in giving us the kid who is paranoid about the next door neighbour - we never really feel the conflict between his genuine concerns and the appearance of paranoia to others.
David Morse is able to portray downright evil as easily as he plays sympathetic second-string leads, and he does so here.
Sarah Roemer makes a confident and attractive young lead in only her third film.
And the house arrest scenario is a good updating alternative to the original Rear Window.