Now we have a film with a horrendous title and an even worse tag line. It seems like whoever designs these promotional campaigns cannot get away from trading on past success. Yes, I understand it is the nature of the beast, the old "what have you done for me lately?" belief. Still, could you not come up with a tag better than: "We've Sensed It. We've Seen the Signs. Now.... It's Happening."? Seriously, that is just an awful line. If that isn't enough, another focus of the television commercials is the fact that this is Shyamalan's first R-rated film. I got the feeling that this is was being set up as a scapegoat if the film flopped at the box-office.
The Happening is something of a self-contained oddity within this summer blockbuster season. With it, M. Night takes a quieter, more introspective approach to the material, allowing it to flow of its own accord. The story does not get pushed around by special effects and is driven in a much more naturalistic fashion than, to pick another disaster film, The Day After Tomorrow, which is more about the whiz bang than it is about subtle character moments.
That covers the impetus for this cautionary tale. At the center of it is Philadelphia high school science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg). When he learns of what has happened in New York, he, along with his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), his friend and fellow teacher Julian (John Leguizama), and his young daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez), hop a train to Harrisburg, PA. The recommendation of the newscasters is to get away from the city.
It is hard to say more than "things happen." To even attempt to do so would be to spell out exactly what does happen, and that is something that need not be done, lest the entire film experience be rendered moot. This film is interesting, it offers up a variety of possible interpretations. There is a strong undercurrent of environmental thinking, personal responsibility, and interpersonal relations that weave into the current that flows beneath surface of the portrayed events. I found myself drawn in and taken with said current as we follow the lives of these people that have been uprooted so easily.
The direction is solid. I like many of the choices made for angles and where to cut. It is not that I would know better, I most certainly would not, but there is a distinct look to the film, a style, a visual flair that communicates that this is definitely a Shyamalan film.
Is this a film everyone will like? No, what film is? It will definitely divide audiences, and it has nothing to do with who "gets it" and who doesn't. It is a simple fact that for some, including me, this is an interesting, introspective film that delivers a positive experiece, while others will find it shallow, empty, and devoid of meaning. This doesn't even touch on those that will be lukewarm to it.
Bottomline. This is a good movie. It tells me that M. Night has not completely lost it and is moving in the right direction. If nothing else, he is a filmmaker who is not afraid of making films that do not appeal to everyone, they do not pander to the lowest common denominator. Whether he is successful in what he is attempting is a separate issue. With The Happening we are given an intriguing film that is left for interpretation while offering as much as you want to take from it.
Recommended.
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