Panic Room (2002)

Wrapping up our first actress-based pairing for Jodie Foster, we move to 2002 and a very different film from last week's! Directed by David Fincher, 2002's "Panic Room" finds Jodie Foster in the role of Meg Altman, a newly-divorced mother trying to figure out how to reclaim her life. She and her daughter Sarah (a very young Kristen Stewart) decide to purchase a massive brownstone home in New York, the former residence of an eccentric and wealthy gentleman. During the walkthrough, Meg notices that one room's dimensions seem off and, sure enough, it's revealed that there is a panic room built into the master bedroom, complete with its own phone line, monitors attached to cameras throughout the building, and supplies to allow one to remain mostly comfortable for days. After moving in, during their first night in their new home, her domicile is invaded by a trio of burglars (Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam, and Jared Leto) whose intentions aren't clear, except that they're looking for something they believe to be in the building. This sets the scene for a very self-contained, tense, and surprising drama that plays out solely within the brownstone, with several interesting twists and turns at the story plays out! The film also features Patrick Bauchau, Ann Magnuson, and Paul Schulze. Plus, the trio reveal which two early CGI-infused science fiction films will make up their first full pairing of 2023!