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BY MAGGIE SCOTT

This is a spoiler: There is no lake to be seen in director Neil LaBute’s domestic thriller, “Lakeview Terrace.” There is, however, a swimming pool which is one of a few ultimately insignificant props that prop up the rickety structure of this trifling work that does justice to neither its villain nor its hero because screenwriters David Laughery and Howard Korder never develop their ideas or story elements beyond the sensational and the convenient.

Besides the nonexistent lake, there are two major canards that, at first blush, would appear to be the point of the story: a monstrous fire and reverse racism. The compact, cul-de-sac neighborhood of Lakeview Terrace is wedged into the steep hills above the city of Los Angeles.

In the morning light, it appears idyllic, even on a day when the temperature will hit 100 and the radio is crackling with stories about the “race against time” against voracious flames that haven’t yet rung alarm bells for long-time residents of the Terrace such as widowed L.A. cop, Able Turner (Samuel L. Jackson).

At first sight, quick assumptions quickly proven wrong about Able are that he is an upright officer of the law, a tough but loving father and a good neighbor. Rather than a father exercising a firm but loving hand, Able is really a man obsessed with imposing his rules, regardless of circumstance or the needs and personalities of his pre-teen son and teenage daughter.

Rather than an off-duty cop concerned with the security of his neighborhood, Able is really a snoop. Rather than a veteran member of the L.A.P.D. with an impeccable record, Able is a police-brutality incident away from being hauled in front of Internal Affairs. All of these character flaws bubble beneath a jocular façade that comes across as edgy welcome to the new homeowners next door, Lisa (Kerry Washington) and Chris (Patrick Wilson) Mattson.

Transplants from Oakland, she’s African American and he’s white. This seems to rub Able, who is African American, the wrong way; and he makes his displeasure known in subtle ways, at first. Chris and Lisa try to shrug it off. They believe in the good neighbor policy of housewarming hospitality, mutual respect and everybody minding their own business.

But, something personal is eating Able, and he begins with digs at Chris about the hip hop music he cranks up on his Prius radio (“You can listen to that stuff all night long; in the morning you’ll still be white”). Able’s security floodlights shine into the Mattsons’ bedroom; but Able claims he doesn’t have the time to fix the problem. When Chris pushes him on the issue, Able pushes right back, suggesting that if Chris and Lisa want to get jiggy in their pool, they might want to consider moving somewhere where that’s okay,and he says this while flashing his service revolver. When the car tires get slashed, it’s obvious that Chris and Lisa are living next door to a bigoted bully. When blows are exchanged across property fences, the feud starts to look silly.

The fallout from this contemptible contest of wills is increasing tension between Lisa and Chris, who have a contentious issue of their own related to starting a family. Then, Able tightens the screws when he hires a petty criminal to break into the Mattsons’ house, hoping to scare them away. But, the plan backfires when Lisa walks in on the vandalism.

Meanwhile the air is thickening with smoke, and the flames are only one or two ridges away from Lakeview Terrace. LaBute is considered one of the “bad boys” of independent cinema with his own stories about cynical, cruel men and dysfunctional relationships But, this addition to his “mainstream” films (Possession; Nurse Betty) is dismal, trivial exploitation that has Washington doing strong strokes, Wilson treading water and Jackson sinking in the deep end of waterlogged mediocrity.

Rated PG-13 for adult thematic material, language, sexual content, violence.

Lisa (Kerry Washington) and Chris (Patrick Wilson) Mattson.are a married couple being harassed by their neighbor LA cop (Samuel
L. Jackson) in Lakeview Terrace

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