a hip homage to Rear Window

Rating: 8/10 (27 August 2007)

Disturbia is an updated, teen version of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window.
Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, I Robot) is Kale, who is placed under house arrest after punching his Spanish teacher for a barbed comment about his father, whom Kale lost in an accident. His mother Julie (Carrie-Anne Moss, The Matrix, Memento) is frustrated, trying to find out how to keep her rebellious son at bay. Moss is underutilized but her subtle, loaded acting is effective (I've associated her so much as Trinity in The Matrix that I keep expecting her to morph into something other than the hapless housewife she plays).
Good thing Kale's best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) can be relied on for comic relief and indulges Kale's voyeuristic exploits (no iPod, no TV, no PC; what's a boy to do?).
Their fave neighbor to spy on is new girl-next-door Ashley (Sarah Roemer). Perpetually bored and longing for some summer action, she teams up with the boys as they play stakeout in Kale's room, trying to get to the bottom of what Kale insists is murder by Kale's neighbor Mr. Turner (played chillingly by David Morse).
The dialogue is painfully earnest and realistic despite the outrageous situation. The members of the cast are likable and turned in strong performances (especially LaBeouf). Disturbia works because it involves its audience and is refreshingly sincere in its delivery. It unravels like a hip homage to Rear Window and doesn't try too hard to be liked, despite being mainstream in execution.