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 Synopsis: It's Christmas Eve. Angela Bridges (Rachel Nichols - "Alias" and "Charlie Wilson's War"), an ambitious young executive, works late before she leaves for her family's holiday party. When she gets down to the parking garage, she discovers that her car won't start. The garage is deserted and her cell phone doesn't get a signal underground. When Thomas (Wes Bentley - "American Beauty"), a friendly security guard, comes along and offers to help, Angela nervously accepts his gesture of good will. Soon after a failed attempt to start her car, he invites her to stay and share a small Christmas dinner he's preparing in the parking office, but she laughs it off. Angela doesn't realize this is no laughing matter - Thomas has been watching her closely... for months. His dinner invitation is not optional. If Angela wants to live to see Christmas morning, she must find a way to escape from level P2 of the parking garage.
Crew: Director - Franck Khalfoun; Screenplay - Alexandre Aja, Franck Khalfoun, and Grégory Levasseur; Producers - Alexandre Aja, Erik Feig, Grégory Levasseur, and Patrick Wachsberger; Cinematographer - Maxime Alexandre; Score - TomanDandy; Editor - Patrick McMahon; Production Designer - Oleg Savytski; Costume Designer - Ruth Secord.
Cast: WES BENTLEY... Thomas; RACHEL NICHOLS... Angela Bridges.
Official Website: www.p2themovie.com
Story: $10.00
Direction: $11.00
Acting: $10.00
Editing: $10.00
Production Design: $10.50
Special Effects: $11.00
Score/Music: $11.00
Costumes: $10.00
"REEL" Value: $10.44 – Filmmaker Alexandre Aja (“High Tension” and “Hills Have Eyes” remake) turns the director’s chair over to Franck Khalfoun as Aja focuses on writing and producing this thriller. The plot for P2 has a lot in common with Aja’s “High Tension.” At the core there is a woman being held captive/pursued by a murderous stalker in a parking garage. A bit more confined then the setting of “High Tension,” but there are similar beats to the tale. It’s interesting that Aja’s protagonists to date are characters pushed beyond extremes, forced into a do-or-die showdown with the antagonists. Oh, and there is this irony of where all three films require motor vehicles. Yes, there is a vehicular showdown in P2, and thank goodness it isn’t the heroine chasing herself – if you saw “High Tension” you know what I mean. Director Franck Khalfoun does an adequate job of balancing all the cinematic elements to build tension and suspense. Making this a terrifying roller coaster ride are the performances by Bentley and Nichols. Nichols presents a brilliant character arch as apposed to Bentley’s mix of Norman Bates and Ted Bundy to create a character for the psychotic killer. A few times Bentley’s performance borders on a back comedy, those moments come late in the story and feel more awkward then effective.
The costumes, although not a critical element of this narrative, looked like they were either purchased from a Salvation Army Thrift Shop or Halloween costumes taken right out of the package. The film also suffers a bit from a lack of blending of the stock footage and with the actual filming locations. The exteriors, the taxi, police car, and the police uniforms, just don’t have that New York feel. While they are a bit distracting a times, they are mostly overshadowed by the intensity of the drama and should only be noticed by diehard New Yorkers.
Overall, P2 is an effective thriller. Not really a horror movie, as there is only one real gory scene, this story could have easily been done as a stage play with a few minor adjustments. The film works due to the director’s skill and the actors’ performances. Still, this is a more intimate tale that is a better value as a bargain matinee or a DVD purchase as there just isn’t anything about it that makes it worth a weekend ticket price. Also, given the themes of P2 it might not lend itself to a “date movie” for couples that haven’t been going out for a significant time.
{Based on the average Manhattan Theater Ticket Price of $11.00.} |
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