Suspenseful, entertaining modern take on 'Rear Window'!

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2015)

I must be one of the few people on the planet that thinks of Shia LaBeouf as a fine actor! There's something unique, different, and engaging about the way he plays his roles. On the surface, he seems like he's always playing the manic, fast-talking rebellious youth who loves for trouble and danger, but in each of his key roles in the late 00s, I find something different in each characterization he played. The first thing I saw LaBeouf in was the entertaining golf flick 'The Greatest Game Ever Played' in 2005 and he was wonderful in that. And his manic energy was the one of the actual plusses for Michael Bay's otherwise empty-headed 'Transformers' flicks in '07 and '09! He was also persuasive in 'Eagle Eye' in '08. Right in the middle of all of this might be my actual to-date favorite role- performance that LaBeouf has given in this film I'm reviewing DISTURBIA (2007).
'Disturbia' is an interesting, suspenseful, well-done modern take on Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 classic 'Rear Window'. The protagonist is Kale (superbly played by LaBeouf), a high-schooler who we meet in an endearing opening scene of him fishing with his Dad (played by the always reliable Matt Craven). On their way back home, Kale and his father get into a tragic accident where the father dies and then the plot of the film starts 1 year later with Kale a troubled teen having committed petty crimes acting out after losing his Dad. It's almost summer and during the final week of the school year, Kale attacks his Spanish teacher after being provoked and is put under house arrest for 3 months.
Soon after, we meet Kale's mother Julie (understatedly played by the reliable Carrie Ann Moss), who tries to instill a sense of discipline in Kale, and Kale's best friend Ronnie (engagingly played by scene-stealer Aaron Yoo), who is Kale's "partner in crime" throughout the rest of the film. Viola Davis shows up in a nice cameo role as the probation officer assigned to give Kale his ankle bracelet that he must wear all summer, as he's confined to his home. As the days pass, Kale gets bored, but brightens up quickly as one day going through his daily routine of spying on his neighbors through telescope and binoculars, he sees that a couple of new neighbors have come to town. One is the next-door family with a beautiful daughter Ashley (solidly played by the stunning Sarah Roemer, somewhat of a Kate Hudson lookalike if Kate Hudson were actually attractive!). The other is the across-the- street neighbor Mr. Turner (excellently performed by the great veteran David Morse in arguably his creepiest film role). Kale and Ashley develop an attraction/connection as both come from broken homes and bond.
Kale through his spying notices that Turner seems to be a shady figure. One night, Kale witnesses Turner has an argument with one of his dates and then later he and Ashley see him carrying a bloody bag from his house. So the trio Kale, Ashley, Ronnie snoop even more into it and things get out of control fast.
The homage to Rear Window totally works, but mainly because the film takes only the general elements of the protagonist forced to stay at home, the beautiful girlfriend, the wisecracking sidekick, and the suspicious neighbor, but tweaking and twisting it to be more favorable to the modern viewer. 'Rear Window' is actually not among my favorite Hitchcock movies, so I found this take on it a refreshing alternative. The film gives the hero more depth as we sympathize with Kale's losing his Dad. It also is refreshing to see teenage characters like Kale, Ashley, and Ronnie that have believable personalities and resourcefulness that feels organic and not some writer's daydream of what they THINK teenagers are like.
Mainly, though, I loved the performances of LaBeouf, who knows how to carry a film for such a young actor, and Morse, who's got the creepy factor down to perfection. Their protagonist-antagonist dynamic is enjoyable. The film is just about the right length and the plot moves at a brisk pace. An entertaining update of a classic film!