Film Review: The Happening

By: DThompson | in: Movies |

M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening

M. Night Shyamalan was a burning star of American cinema, making four near-perfect films in a row. Starting with the heart-rending Wide Awake, (and, if you haven’t seen that, you really should), through the low-key chills of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and finishing with the truly terrifying Signs, he was a cinematic revelation who could apparently do no wrong.

It can be a long hard fall off the pedestal of perfection and Night’s two most recent films The Village and Lady In The Water saw him taking a real tumble. In fact, after Lady his career was perilously close to official train wreck status. He must have known it, because Shyamalan really pulls out all the stops with The Happening, as violent and chilling a vision as you’re likely to see or want to see, this year.

The Happening

The Happening tells the story of an event unforeseen and unforeseeable. An air-borne toxin takes hold in Central Park and spreads from there, causing all who come in contact to become disoriented and then to kill themselves by the quickest available means. The calm matter-of-fact way these suicides are carried out is echoed in Tak Fujimoto’s unblinking cinematic eye. You want to look away, but the film won’t let you. As an audience member you’re forced into the hellish circumstances of the characters of the film, first trying to understand the event, then just fleeing from in it in horror.

Mark Wahlberg plays high school science teacher Elliot Moore, who has his share of ordinary domestic difficulties, including the lessening attentions of his wife Alma, played by Zooey Deschanel. Wahlberg is first seen discussing the reasons for the disappearance of bees with his class, eventually coming to the conclusion that while theories will be offered some acts of nature are mysterious and unknowable. Which is about the point when school is cancelled and Elliot, Alma and a fellow teacher leave New York on a doomed train to Philadelphia.

Wahlberg is convincing in a role requiring him to be an intelligent and sincere everyman while Deschannel fares less well with a more complicated Alma. Called on to be conflicted, withdrawn and loving, sometimes all at once, she mostly manages to look weepy. The film’s great strength is in the actors chosen for smaller roles, required to be immediately likeable yet in emotional distress they mostly succeed.

Shyamalan’s hand with suspense is back to its old sureness. Several times he cranks the film to a painful intensity throughout its terse running time. As his story progresses and invisible death is announced with a gentle summer breeze again and again, you find yourself thinking “This can’t end well.” And for humanity, it doesn’t.

VERDICT: You may never picnic again.

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Posted on June 15, 2008

Comments

6 Responses to “Film Review: The Happening”

Peety on June 15th, 2008 8:46 pm

Oww I love thrillers and Mark Whalberg what a great combination *wink*

DThompson on June 16th, 2008 12:23 am

This film is getting a lot of unfair bad press in my opinion. It’s one thing not to like a film but I think many people are using this movie as a chance to beat up on M. Night Shyamalan in general. O’ve read people saying this was the “worst movie ever” and that “the endings to all of his films suck” and that every actor, every SINGLE actor in this film is terrible.
I couldn’t disagree more. C’mon, the worst movie EVER? Every SINGLE actor? The ending to The Sixth Sense SUCKED?!
I have nothing against people not liking this movie but I would hope it would be for legitimate reasons and not just to dump on the director.
And, Peety: It is a great combination.

Charbarred on June 16th, 2008 2:55 am

People tend to be very cruel to things that are beyond their comprehension. Didn’t you see the end of Easy Rider?

DThompson on June 16th, 2008 1:31 pm

The end of Easy Rider makes an excellent metaphor for what is currently happening to this excellent film.

Ira on June 18th, 2008 5:57 am

I have enjoyed all of M Night Shyamalan’s movies and to be honest, I will ignore any negative reviews and watch it anyway! Anyone who made brilliant movies like the Sixth sense and Unbreakable must continue to give us quality movies.

Rob on July 15th, 2008 11:41 am

This movie was a horrid piece of trash. M Shyamalan needs to give up his career. He made his good movies and is apparently out of any new an profound ideas. The movie had so many horrid turning points it’s impossible to fully explain how much it lacked!

If you saw The Happening and found it to be anything but a joke of a movie made by a crazy man in despair, then god help your soul.