The underrated thriller Panic Room is one of the few that focuses on a mother saving her daughter from intruders. This is a real fear for every single mother out there, whether they live in a massive mansion or not. This was the first time Kristen Stewart met and worked with Jodie Foster. All of these years later, Foster was given a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, and Stewart joined her to present. It seems odd that it’s taken this long for Foster to get a star, right? Shouldn’t she have had one long before now? Either way, it’s great to see the two women still friends, still supporting each other, with Foster being an inspiration and guiding force for Stewart.
Foster started acting as a child, famously, won two Oscars, and transitioned eventually to directing — with a lot of great work in between. Foster’s new film, Money Monster, is set for release May 13th the day after its world premiere in Cannes. Stewart has also started directing, with a short film, Water. Foster directed an episode of House of Cards (episode 9 or Season 2) and directed two episodes of Orange in the New Black. She hasn’t directed a feature since 2011’s The Beaver. Though it starred Mel Gibson, whose life was imploding at the time, it’s a pretty great movie — with a small part by soon-to-be superstar, Jennifer Lawrence.
I won’t blab on and on about Fincher’s Panic Room except to say that it is a glorious, wondrous work of suffocating art. The house is the main character, as it is in Hitchcock’s Psycho and Kubrick’s The Shining, where the stairs, doors, walls and hideaways and history all play a part. The way the two main characters relate to it tells you everything you need to know about who they are and what they’re about. Stewart is not afraid of it, and even rides her scooter innocently around it. Foster is intimidated, uncomfortable, scared. Of course, the house is destroyed by the end, which is one of the best things about the movie.
