The Happening
Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel star in The Happening
Also In The News
|
Belt-cutting and name-calling are the latest crimes against housemates committed in this year's Big Brother. |  |
Wednesday, 02, Jul 2008 09:27
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, out now, starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo, 91 mins.
In a nutshell...
Apocalyptic, haunting, vaguely topical sci-fi.
What's it all about?
An 'event' in Central Park at first appears to be part of a deadly terrorist plot that quickly spreads across the east coast of America. The film follows a dysfunctional family unit and their struggle to survive this attack - whoever or whatever the perpetrators may be.
Who's in it?
M Night Shyamalan is best known as the writer and director of The Sixth Sense, which was a box office success and a hit with critics when it was released in 1999. His following films - Unbreakable, Signs, The Village - have not reached such dizzy heights of commercial popularity and critical acclaim but he certainly has a cult following of sci-fi fans. Renowned for constructing films that more often than not promise unusual twists, hair-raising suspense, a dollop of dry wit, heart-warming family bonds and a peppering of Hitchcock-esque touches, Shyamalan has stuck quite firmly to this formula with his latest offering.
Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel are well-known Hollywood actors who have not previously worked with Shyamalan and follow in the footsteps of big names such as Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix.
As an example...
"Science will come up with some reason to put in the books, but in the end it'll be just a theory. I mean, we will fail to acknowledge that there are forces at work beyond our understanding. To be a scientist, you must have a respectful awe for the laws of nature," Elliot Moore." - Mark Wahlberg
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
It's fairly unlikely that The Happening will scoop any awards but it will probably please Shyamalan's fans as it bears all the hallmarks of his work - although in the same vein it will fail to silence his critics, in fact it is likely only to serve to irritate them further.
What the others say
"Sadly, while this eco-thriller will have audiences drooling at the outset, its execution adds further weight to the argument that Shyamalan should pitch his great ideas to screenwriters more able to flesh them out." - Film 4 Reviews.
"Shyamalan lacks the courage of his apocalyptic convictions, so the film's flabby (anti)climactic scenes are a virtual re-run of Signs, in which an external threat re-cements fragile familial bonds." - Nigel Floyd, Time Out London
So is it any good?
As usual Shyamalan has conjured an interesting concept with great potential into a film featuring strong acting talent and, while it is certainly full of suspense, jumpy moments and haunting scenes, it does not quite deliver what one might hope. Vaguely alluding to current political and environmental issues, any strong statement that Shyamalan was trying to make was watered down by a rather mediocre story and what can be best described as 'kooky' acting performances (this appears to be the fault of the director rather than the actors). Shyamalan's usual dry tone of humour also failed to ring the right notes, most notably at the beginning of the film when Elliot is addressing his science class, although luckily not every scene is as uncomfortable to watch as this.
Unfortunately, any genius behind the initial idea was rushed over, not fully developed and the ending of the film was weak (I was unduly reminded of Jumanji). The Happening would have been a better film if it wasn't so similar to Signs - which at least raised stronger questions about faith than The Happening did about the environment. A different conclusion to the film than that played out in Signs would have given the film some of substance it was lacking. It's worth a peek, but only when it appears on Sky (for free).
6/10
Rosie Park
Check out the explicit red-band trailer below: - extreme caution advised: