Bad Acting Prevents Much from Happening at the Theater

The Happening
20th Century Fox
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan



I am a huge M. Night Shyamalan fan. I've loved every movie he's released (since The Sixth Sense...I haven't gotten my hands on his earlier, less mainstream work...anyone know where I can get it?). Yes, that includes Unbreakable, his superhero movie, The Village, which no one appreciates since they couldn't get past the advertising, and, yes, even Lady in the Water, which is probably my favorite...maybe edged out by Sixth Sense. I've loved his vision since Haley Joel Osment told us he saw dead people; it continued through Mel Gibson's use of a carving knife to peer under a pantry door in Signs, past Bryce Dallas Howard reaching, trustingly, for Joaquin Phoenix's hand in The Village, and into the haunting score by James Newton Howard in Lady. I'm a dreamer, always have been, and the reason I love reading and film so much is because the best ones make you forget you're in a chair staring at words on a page or in a darkened theater with hundreds of people whose cell phones won't stop ringing. I love make-believe and it's one of the reasons I love Shyamalan's work so much...he makes you believe. Some critics have accused him of lying to his audience, and negatively. Isn't that the point? Don't we want to be lied to for a time? To escape the harshness of reality? I love the fantasy world and the supernatural and I am drawn to it in my leisure time. One of Shyamalan's greatest talents is getting his public (or at least, I can speak for myself) to believe every word, every character, every moment...and that's why I was so disappointed in The Happening.

The Happening begins with some of the most chilling scenes on film. The disaster movies of the '70s frightened me most because of their realism and, mainly, because of their panic scenes. I still feel sick when I see those kinds of scenes in ANY movie -- scenes where people trample each other to get out of a tight space; as a result, I'm slightly claustrophobic in crowds. What Shyamalan does in his film, however, is eliminate the panic. No one runs, no one screams...all you see are people frozen in place in a park. You watch as a girl observes her friend struggle to speak, then slowly bring a hairpin to her throat. You stand with a construction foreman who's witnessed a co-worker fall to his death and then stand agape as others follow from their lofty heights. You feel that same panic from the old disaster flicks like The Poseidon Adventure, or Earthquake, or The Towering Inferno, but no one's running or being trampled...they're all simply killing themselves.



Mark Wahlberg stars as Elliot Moore, a science teacher who wracks his brain to figure out what's going on in the northeastern states. His opening scenes in the classroom, to this particular teacher, are unrealistic -- he doesn't have the ease we do with our students and the students are FAR too attentive. :) The reality comes through when a female administrator comes through the door and he lurks about the room saying, "The Dark Lord...don't look into her eyes!" and the students chuckle with him...that particular moment strikes home. Forgive me my one moment of personalized criticism...I doubt any non-educator would notice much about the stagnancy of the classroom in this scene.

The teachers are gathered into the auditorium and are told by the principal, played far too briefly by Alan Ruck (Cameron from Ferris Bueller!), that strange things have happened in Central Park in NY and the students are being sent home. Moore and his good friend Julian (John Leguizamo) decide they want to gather in upstate NY, since the occurrences in the Park are suggested to be terrorist-related. Moore calls his wife, Alma (Zooey Deschanel), and collects her on his way to the train station where they meet Julian and his daughter. There is a subplot here concerning Alma's dedication to their marriage and an animosity between her and Julian, as Julian is fiercely protective of Elliot's well-being. It's a nice depiction of friendship, but the storyline coupled with the acting falls flat.



After the train stalls out in a very small town in Pennsylvania, the group collects in a diner with other passengers who find out that similar "happenings" have occurred in Philidelphia - the city from which they've reccently fled - and other major cities. Everything is happening in city parks, however, and this adds to the mystery -- it's definitely not terrorism. The movie continues on, and eventually gives a source for these happenings, but that's only one part of the film.

The Happening also focuses on personal interaction, which is not uncommon at all for Shyamalan. His love for character study is apparent in all of his other films and is a big part of his script development. A lot of the story focuses on Elliot and Alma and their desperation to find a safe locale to ride out the storm, so to speak. They are joined by quite a few interesting characters, many of whom are far more enjoyable than our main protagonists, but are, sadly, easily expendable. The film is also about isolation, which is another interesting theme of Shyamalan's. Often, his characters are put into situations where they feel like the only people in the world - the outside is cut off from their lives and they are focused solely on themselves. The same thing happens here, and in much more dramatic and literal ways.

There are, however, huge issues with the movie. The acting is simply terrible, and extremely disappointing, considering the cast and writer (Shyamalan himself, again). Wahlberg's dialogue is forced and unrealistic - a scene in a field where he "realizes" there's a house nearby and calls everyone's attention to it is especially strange and unnatural. I've already mentioned his shortcomings as a realistic teacher, but he's no better with his wife, friend, or Julian's daughter. Jess, the young girl, is practically mute, and just comes off as a doll being dragged from place to place. However, she has much more screen talent than Deschanel does in this film. Alma is vapid, blank, and heartlessly selfish and you cheer Julian in an enraged moment where he snarls at her to "not take [his] daughter's hand unless [she] means it." These protagonists are not sympathetic, and are not realistic enough to gain our loyalty. Even the close of their story to us, which should be emotional in SOME way, seems contrived.

The Happening's ultimate resolution is, in some ways, a non-resolution, but not in the way you'd expect. Many people are trained to enter a Shyamalan film with the expectation that there's a trick ending. The truth, as evidenced by Lady in the Water, is that there need not be a trick to be very Shyamalan. That's not to say there's no trick here...but I reveal nothing. Never any spoilers from me! There is a message here, but it's marred by the hideous acting and the disappointing plotline. Unfortunately, as a fan, I've been let down by a favorite director, and I would skip this one if I were you; there's not much Happening here.


The Happening is now playing in theaters.