History Film / LakeviewTerrace

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Abel, towards Damon Richards. Richards is heavily implied to be a domestic abuser and he's heard referring to his wife and child as a strain on his finances. With that in mind it's hard to feel sorry for him when Abel gives him a well-deserved beatdown and a ReasonYouSuckSpeech.

Chris Mattsen (Wilson) and his wife Lisa (Washington) are a young, recently married interracial couple who have just moved into a "starter home" in an upper-middle class neighborhood near Los Angeles, California. Looking forward to starting their brand new life together, the Mattsens have few worries aside from getting settled in, and when they should start talking about starting a family. That is, until they meet their new neighbor, Abel Turner (Jackson).

* BadCopIncompetentCop: While Abel (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is harassing the Mattsens, the rest of the police force turns a blind eye to his actions until it's too late.

** Don't challenge his authority in any way. Abel antagonizes his daughter while she's swimming in the Mattsens' pool but when she talks back he smacks her. When confronted with authority figures who actually hold him to account like Internal Affairs he doesn't dare talk back but you can tell he's fuming.

* FriendsRentControl: Only in Hollywood would anyone consider the Mattsens' house a "starter home". A house that size, in that neighborhood of L.A. (which has some of the highest housing costs in the U.S.), with a decent sized in-ground pool, would easily cost seven figures. Abel as well, who can afford his own home on a beat cop's salary. Even with the mention of him "working my ass off, saving every dime," it's too much of a stretch. At the same time he had bought the house 20 years earlier and he probably has already paid it off.

* MalignedMixedMarriage: Abel's harassment towards Chris and Lisa Mattsen, played by Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington is based on his racist attitudes, and the fact that they're a mixed race couple.

* PoliceAreUseless: One has to wonder with even all Abel's friends standing with him, that the Mattsons don't at least TRY to go to the cops in person, especially if it's likely he has a history of unpleasant behavior on the job. Completely justified as accusing a longtime and respected cop like Abel will likely provoke him to encourage/manipulate his colleauges into taking his side. And it probably would be MUCH worse even if they succedeed in getting a case through.

* ScaryBlackMan: It's Creator/SamuelLJackson, what did you expect?

* TwoPersonPoolParty: While Abel already disapproves of the Mattsens as a couple along with their liberal attitudes, his children seeing the pair getting hot and heavy in their swimming pool one evening [[StrawmanHasAPoint doesn't help matters]].

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Abel's kids are [[ShooOutTheClowns away visiting their aunt]] when the movie's final scene goes down. [[spoiler:What happens when they come home and find out their father was shot to death by cops because he was trying to murder his neighbors?]]

* AssholeVictim: With his tyrannical behavior towards his kids, his harassment of Chris and Lisa, using his status as a cop to abuse his power and being an overall dickhead throughout the film, very few people shed tears when [[spoiler:Abel is gunned down]].

''Lakeview Terrace'' is a 2008 film loosely BasedOnATrueStory, directed by [=Neil LaBute=] (''Film/InTheCompanyOfMen'', ''Film/DeathAtAFuneral'') and produced by Creator/WillSmith. The film stars Creator/SamuelLJackson, Creator/PatrickWilson, and Creator/KerryWashington.

** While he goes the wrong way with taking matters into his own hands, Abel's annoyance about the Mattsons' careless behavior is quite reasonable. This includes things such as his kids witnessing Chris and Lisa making love in their swimming pool, Chris thoughtlessly littering cigarette butts onto his lawn, and hanging their trees over his property without his permission (all of these can can lead to possible legal action or circumstances as a case of being negligent with towards somebody or their property, especially with the trees).

** While he goes the wrong way with taking matters into his own hands, Abel's annoyance about the Mattsons' careless behavior is quite reasonable. This includes things such as his kids witnessing Chris and Lisa making love in their swimming pool, Chris thoughtlessly littering cigarette butts onto his lawn, and hanging their trees over his property without his permission (all of these can can lead to possible legal action or circumstances, especially with the trees).

** While he goes the wrong way with taking matters into his own hands, Abel's annoyance about the Mattsons' careless behavior is quite reasonable. This includes things such as his kids witnessing Chris and Lisa making love in their swimming pool, Chris thoughtlessly littering cigarette butts onto his lawn, and hanging their trees over his property without his permission (all of these can can lead to possible legal action or circumstances, especially with the trees.

** While he goes the wrong way with taking matters into his own hands, Abel's annoyance about the Mattsons' careless behavior is quite reasonable. This includes things such as his kids witnessing Chris and Lisa making love in their swimming pool, Chris thoughtlessly littering cigarette butts onto his lawn, and hanging their trees over his property without his permission (the latter which has been known in real life to lead to legal circumstances).

** While he goes the wrong way with taking matters into his own hands, Abel's annoyance about the Mattsons' careless behavior is quite reasonable. This includes things such as his kids witnessing Chris and Lisa making love in their swimming pool, Chris thoughtlessly littering cigarette butts onto his lawn, and it's completely reasonable for anyone to be annoyed by their neighbors hanging their trees over their property without their permission.

** Abel's annoyance about his kids witnessing Chris and Lisa making love in their swimming pool.

** Regardless of Abel's hatred of the Mattsons and taking matters in his own hands, it's completely reasonable for anyone to be annoyed by their neighbors hanging their trees over their property without their permission.

Regardless of Abel's hatred of the Mattsons and taking matters in his own hands, it's completely reasonable for anyone to be annoyed to have any trees hanging over their property without their knowledge.

* AssholeVictim: His tyrannical behavior towards his kids, his harassment of Chris and Lisa, using his status as a cop to abuse his power and being an overall dickhead throughout the film, very few people shed tears when [[spoiler:Abel was gunned down]].

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Abel is not entirely wrong to be angry at the fact that his wife died in a car accident alongside her boss (whom she was having an affair with), but none of this justifies his vindictive behaviour towards the Mattsons as he becomes increasingly unhinged (whilst alienating his children at the same time). Given his conservative attitudes, his lack of accountability, and the fact that he brings up the man she was cheating on was white, it's somewhat implied he was already like this from the get-go.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Abel is not entirely wrong to be angry at the fact that his wife dying in a car accident alongside her boss (whom she was having an affair with), but none of this justifies his vindictive behaviour towards the Mattsons as he becomes increasingly unhinged (whilst alienating his children at the same time). Given his conservative attitudes, his lack of accountability, and the fact that he brings up the man she was cheating on was white, it's somewhat implied he was already like this from the get-go.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Despite the fact that his wife died in a car accident with her boss (whom she was having an affair with) has made Abel understandably angry, none of this justifies his vindictive behaviour towards the Mattsons as he becomes increasingly unhinged (whilst alienating his children at the same time). Given his conservative attitudes, his lack of accountability, and the fact that he brings up the man she was cheating on was white, it's somewhat implied he was already like this from the get-go.

* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler: Abel casually mentions to Chris about his dead wife and uses the fact that she cheated on him with a white man to justify his hate. But during the final scene, when Chris taunts Abel about his wife, Abel becomes enraged at Chris for "mentioning [his] wife's name" and [[VillainousBreakdown tries to shoot him with his concealed weapon. Considering that, it's almost certain that using his wife's death to justify his hatred earlier was more of an excuse than an actual motive to indulge his hatred and power on the couple.]]

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lakeviewterrace_572.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Welcome to the Neighborhood.]]

* [[spoiler:{{Hypocrite}}: Abel casually mentions to Chris about his dead wife and uses the fact that she cheated on him with a white man to justify his hate. But during the final scene, when Chris taunts Abel about his wife, Abel becomes enraged at Chris for "mentioning [his] wife's name" and [[VillainousBreakdown tries to shoot him with his concealed weapon. Considering that, it's almost certain that using his wife's death to justify his hatred earlier was more of an excuse than an actual motive to indulge his hatred and power on the couple.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: Abel casually mentions to Chris about his dead wife and uses the fact that she cheated on him with a white man to justify his hate. But during the final scene, when Chris taunts Abel about his wife, Abel becomes enraged at Chris for "mentioning [his] wife's name" and [[VillainousBreakdown tries to shoot him with his concealed weapon.]]

''Lakeview Terrace'' is a 2008 film directed by [=Neil LaBute=] (''Film/InTheCompanyOfMen'', ''Film/DeathAtAFuneral'') and produced by Creator/WillSmith. The film stars Creator/SamuelLJackson, Creator/PatrickWilson, and Creator/KerryWashington.

* AngryBlackMan: A villainous example in the form of Abel, since he is often angry over the most minor of things and also barely hides his anger through a condescending and warped sense of humor.

'''Abel''': Or '''what'''? You'll call the cops? Here, use my phone. I can tell you exactly who is on duty.

** Abel himself, in the final scene. He was a bit unhinged at the time, but lying to the cops about not having a weapon was idiotic, even before he drew it. As a cop himself, he should know that when the police show up, the best thing to do is to follow their instructions and put his weapon down, and let them sort it out afterwards. [[spoiler: Chris uses this to throw Abel off and get the latter gunned down.]] Not to mention when Chris found Clarence's cell phone and calls Abel didn't bother to check his caller ID and wonder why he would get a call from someone he shot earlier that day?

** Clarence, the criminal Abel hired to trash the couple's house. Shall we recap? He's over six feet tall and weighs about 300 lbs and he was wearing a ski mask and yet thought it would be a good idea to grab Lisa and tell her "calm down" instead of hightailing it out of the house before anyone showed up? [[SarcasmMode Brilliant, sir.]]
** Abel himself, in the final scene. He was a bit unhinged at the time, but lying to the cops about not having a weapon was idiotic, even before he drew it. As a career cop himself, he should know that when the police show up, the best thing to do is to follow their instructions and put his weapon down, and let them sort it out afterwards. [[spoiler: Chris uses this to throw Abel off and get the latter gunned down.]]

** He wasn't wrong to tell Damon Richards to stop whining about his situation and be good father to his baby. Though it's undercut by giving him a beatdown and threatening him with his own gun.