A newly married interracial couple move into a peaceful neighborhood to start their life together. Unfortunately, their neighbor is a mentally unbalanced LA cop played by Samuel L. Jackson.
Lots and lots and lots of racial overtones here. However, it's not the typical evil whitey stuff, it's reversed. The newlywed husband is white and his bride is black. This fact doesn't sit well with her father or Samuel.
In terms of the racial story line, this is a very interesting movie. The director is white, but I'd be curious to know if the writers were black because there are a lot of subtle messages buried in this film. However, they're so different from what you normally see in movies. I'm quite sure Spike Lee wouldn't be a fan of this film.
Anyway, Sam gets aggressive about his new neighbors as his own life turns to shit. That's really the whole movie as you wait for it to come to its inevitable conclusion.
The acting throughout is very good, especially Samuel who does more facial acting here than in anything else I've seen him in.
My only real complaint is that we don't get more back story on Samuel's character. At one point in the film, my immersion was lost as I pondered why this man had been driven so far down this path. I realize that some of it is explained, but I wonder if some critical scenes weren't left on the cutting room floor.
Beyond that, there were a handful of minor writing issues, but nothing that should destroy your enjoyment of the film. Just things that will make you question Samuel's character and especially other people's reaction to him, plus one thing late in the film that anyone who has watched any police show or CSI will pick up on immediately and call bullshit.
Overall, it's an enjoyable film, which is the ultimate goal, and it could spark a good conversation about race issues. It's worth a rental if you're into thrillers (although, this is light on anything actually "thrilling").
6 out of 10.