Disturbance in the 'Burbs
By Sarah Carlson
April 12, 2007
‘Disturbia’ continues Hollywood’s long tradition of delving into the seedy underbelly of suburbia.
In honor of the film’s Friday release, here’s our look at some of the genre’s recent entries
<< AMERICAN BEAUTY
When a depressed man grows tired of his perfect life, he quits his job and brings new definition to “mid-life crisis” — especially when he becomes infatuated with his daughter’s friend. “Beauty” blows apart the often rose-tinted view of suburban life.
>> ARLINGTON ROAD
This 1999 film is even more disturbing in our post-9/11 world. After his FBI-agent wife is killed in an anti-terrorism operation, a professor becomes obsessed with the subject and is soon convinced his new neighbors are terrorists. Are they?
<< THE CHUMSCRUBBER
This clumsy tale of pill-popping teens and their clueless parents, nestled within the cockles of suburbia, was marketed as a look at “Generation Rx.” Still, it has some (unintentionally) entertaining moments (you’ll never look at dolphins the same.)
>> DONNIE DARKO
This modern-day cult classic was two-parts suburban dysfunction, one-part thriller. The only thing scarier than Donnie’s imaginary bunny friend are the eccentrics who line his otherwise unassuming neighborhood.
<< HAPPINESS
Perhaps one of cinema’s gutsiest, most controversial looks at “ordinary” people, “Happiness” is populated by suburbanites with a stream of peculiar problems (including a wannabe hermit, a phone-sex addict and a pedophile.) It’s not for the squeamish.
>> THE VIRGIN SUICIDES
Sofia Coppola’s first feature-length film provides a haunting look at the five Lisbon sisters and their isolation in the suburbs. When one of the sisters commits suicide, it’s pretty much downhill for the rest. “Suicides” is dark, unsettling and beautiful.
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