PENTHOUSE NORTH DVD (2013)
SYNOPSIS: Sara Taylor (Michelle Monaghan), a photojournalist blinded in Iraq, is forced to play a deadly game of cat and mouse with the cultured but sadistic Hollander (Michael Keaton) and his brutal accomplice Chad (Barry Sloane) – two men who will stop at nothing to get what they want. And what they want is a fortune in stolen diamonds hidden somewhere in the penthouse. Sara claims not to know where the diamonds are. But Hollander intends to find out, proving to be a master of psychological and physical torture, utilizing all his nasty tricks in an effort to break Sara’s resistance…
MOVIE REVIEW:
One could do much worse than Joseph Ruben’s unassuming home invasion thriller ‘Penthouse North’. Returning to the director’s seat nine years after the supernatural thriller ‘The Forgotten’ and many more years after the similarly themed ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’, Ruben makes the best out of David Loughery’s limited screenplay and delivers a relatively exciting 90-minute thrill ride that is perfectly in line with expectations for this B-movie.
Headlined by the once-promising Michelle Monaghan who plays a former photojournalist rendered blind while on assignment in Afghanistan three years ago, the New Year’s Eve-set movie has her character Sara first held hostage by Barry Sloane’s no-gooder Chad and then by both Chad and his more cunning partner Hollander (played by Michael Keaton). Apparently, Sara’s new boyfriend Ryan had been mixed up in some bad business with Hollander and Chad, and the duo have come to collect the fortune in diamonds that Ryan made off with.
It’s as straightforward a setup as you can get, but Ruben gets the pieces moving fairly quickly so you won’t get bored. It’s pretty neatly constructed if we may say so, allowing Sara at the halfway mark to make an exciting getaway attempt from Chad before she unfortunately runs into Hollander on the street and is tricked back into the apartment. The recurring theme of whether Sara is in fact aware of the stolen goods is predictably but deftly woven into the narrative, and Monaghan - with her sweet looks and pleading eyes - does a credible job keeping her audience guessing.
On the other hand, Keaton’s role doesn’t come in any shades of grey. It’s a villainous role all right, and Keaton does his snarly best without going overboard. Those who grew up with the actor in the 1990s though will probably get a frisson of excitement seeing the former ‘Batman’ back on the screen, but this is at best a supporting role that demands little from him. Sloane, on the other hand, seems stuck with an inconsistent character, first depicted as somewhat of a maniac who kills Ryan even before extracting any info from him and then turned into a cowering associate who takes orders from Hollander.
But this isn’t the kind of movie you quibble with about character; rather, it’s that kind of movie where you sit down hoping for a diverting enough experience to distract your mind - and in that regard, Ruben does not disappoint. This one might be set in a penthouse, but if you keep your expectations just right around the middle, you’ll find this a pretty neat thriller that’s good enough for a home video watch.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track delivers the dialogue crisply enough, but one certainly hopes for sharper visuals on this DVD.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
