MOVIES: Menace on the 'Terrace'

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By Christian Toto

Samuel L. Jackson's cop character in "Lakeview Terrace" takes the "protect and serve" part of his job seriously on - and off - duty. He doesn't take kindly to finding cigarette butts on his property or having his children witness his neighbors' sexual hijinks in their pool.

Mixed-race couples really grind his gears.

"Lakeview Terrace" imagines the fallout from moving next door to an L.A. cop on the edge, but it avoids most of that setup's inherent pitfalls.

Interracial couple Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) move in to their first home, situated in a California cul-de-sac, and they're eager to make nice with their new neighbors.

The homeowner next door, Abel Turner (Mr. Jackson), lords over the block like a field marshal. The widower is just as demanding in his own home, making sure his children speak proper English and ensuring that their moral compasses point north.

He's the perfect neighbor except that he doesn't see any shades of gray when it comes to people's behavior - or their dating habits. He frowns on white men dating black women, and he intimates that to Chris when they first meet.

Or does he? Mr. Jackson's sly performance makes it hard to pin Abel down as a monster, at least in the early sequences.

The neighborly tension slowly builds from that early exchange, and the escalation is handled with a keen sense of balance. Sure, Abel is as unbending as an oak tree, but Chris' initial actions are selfish enough to warrant Abel's glare.

It's only a matter of time before the new neighbors set aside any pretense of civility. Chris and Lisa's relationship suffers a series of marital strains, and Abel's muscular arrest of a suspect puts him under the watchful eye of internal affairs.

Add a California wildfire raging near their homes, and all the ingredients for an L.A. meltdown are ready to boil.