Review: Penthouse North

2nd February 2014

By Alex Cole.

Directed by Joseph Ruben, Penthouse North is the story of a reclusive photojournalist suffering from PTSD who gets caught up in a heist as two sadistic criminals search for diamonds. Having being injured in Afghanistan at the hands of a suicide bomber Sara has been left without her sight. Living a quiet life with her boyfriend Ryan, and helpless in the eyes of others her life falls apart as her two assailants slowly reveal Ryan’s hidden past. Two of his former partners who he double crossed cause chaos as they come to claim their $4 million haul. Throughout the film we are convinced that Sara is innocent and harmless, but seemingly knowing more than we are led to believe she soon engages in mental battle with her two kidnappers for her freedom and the money.

Penthouse North’s most redeeming feature is the relationship between the two criminals. It presents nothing new, it is essentially your average muscle and brains relationship in which the muscle becomes suspicious of the brains’ intentions, but it’s interesting enough to hold the viewer’s attention for 90 minutes. Through a great performance by Michael Keaton backed up by a more than capable one by Barry Sloane, Joseph Ruben creates a tense atmosphere filled with suspicion and intrigue. This atmosphere is increased when it soon becomes obvious that Sara played by Michelle Monaghan is not as innocent as first believed, no longer being a pawn in Michael Keaton’s psychological game, but a crucial player. Yet ultimately Michelle Monahan’s character is bland and unappealing. Supported by a needless backstory of her time in Afghanistan which adds nothing to the story, Sara was not a relatable character, and it was difficult to feel any support for her. Michelle Monaghan does her best to redeem the character, but there is little she can do to add to the spice of this film. The relationship between the main three characters resonates with The Disappearance of Alice Creed, but with less depth and not nearly as gripping. The characters are uninventive giving nothing to shock or surprise the viewer.

The film is built upon an escalating situation in which circumstances gets worse and the stakes keep increasing yet none of them have any real impact and the final twist is equally unimpressive. Ruben attempts to surprise us by subtly revealing how much Sara knew about her boyfriend’s past yet this is less of a twist and more of a gradual conclusion which the viewer could have easily guessed. This is an entertaining but bland film with a hint of tension rescued only by a good performance from Michael Keaton.

Penthouse North is a film that to an extent you’ll enjoy, but never watch again.

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