The Happening Review
The Happening
Written and Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo
Over the years, some might say that M. Night Shyamalan has become a victim of his own success. The director seemingly came out of nowhere in 1999 with the smash hit thriller The Sixth Sense (it was actually his third movie at the time), but since then has become one of the more recognizable filmmakers working today (thanks in part to having his name slapped in front of all his movie titles). However, as of late, many people are finding his films increasingly self-indulgent and just a little too clever for their own good. While I can see where some of the criticism comes from, for me, a new Shyamalan film is still always an event… or, at the very least, a “happening”.
Following up on Lady in the Water, his critically-lambasted bedtime story, Shyamalan has returned to more familiar ground. The Happening is another ominous thriller that stars Mark Wahlberg as a school teacher caught in the middle of an inexplicable phenomenon occurring throughout New York City. People are randomly committing suicide en masse, almost as if under some sort of mind control, thought to be the result of an airborne toxin that is shutting down the brain’s self-defense mechanisms. When the city is evacuated, he and his wife (Zooey Deschanel) find themselves on the run through rural Pennsylvania, struggling to survive against an unknown force of nature.
While the marketing for The Happening may have been deliberately vague, this is one case where there aren’t many mysteries to protect in the first place. Shyamalan’s main idea here is very simple — perhaps too simple, as it isn’t really substantial enough to carry it through to the end. There aren’t many major plot twists, which is one thing Shyamalan fans may find disappointing. On the other hand, where Lady in the Water was overly complex and self-aware, The Happening is blissfully naive. As such, it never bogs down with exposition, and never runs the risk of feeling pretentious.
Shyamalan’s strength is his ability to create tension and mood, and with the help of another creepy score by James Newton Howard, the first half of the movie gets by simply on the suspense and mystery alone. The Happening’s R-rating is earned by some of the most grotesque imagery seen in a Shyamalan film to date (definitely more blood than any of his other flicks), but I suspect part of the motivation for the gore was to make up for the lack of any real monster or physical threat in the film. This becomes a bigger problem later on when they are fleeing from an invisible enemy that they know nothing about. Without a better understanding of the danger that is at hand, there are moments where it is difficult for the audience to buy in to their predicament and feel frightened.
The two biggest criticisms that most people are likely to have about The Happening are the acting and the story. I do think the acting is a valid criticism; at times Mark Wahlberg is like a big goofy kid, while Zooey Deschanel is so understated that we almost forget she exists. For the record, however, I don’t think Wahlberg’s performance is anywhere near as bad as some people make it out to be (yes, some of his lines are supposed to be funny). Also, I thought John Leguizamo did a decent job, even though he parts ways with the main characters about halfway through. As for the story, I suppose it is a matter of taste, but I don’t believe that it deserves quite so much flack. Yes, it’s a little wackier than what we’re used to in horror movies nowadays, and maybe it comes across as preachy, but hey, at least it is original. It kept me absorbed and interested throughout the entire running time, and my only real complaint is that the “rules of engagement” were inconsistent and never fully explained.
The movie starts off strong, feeling very reminiscent of Signs (my favourite Shyamalan flick), and conveying a great sense of widespread panic and fear. By the end, however, it fell more in line with The Village because it just didn’t pay off in a satisfying way. (I am happy to report that it remains well above the Lady in the Water-level of insanity.) I know that a lot of people are going to be quick to judge The Happening harshly, but I honestly didn’t think it was a bad film. It has its share of flaws, but if you enjoy apocalyptic movies about plagues and states of emergency, there is a decent film here worthy of your attention. On the other hand, if you’ve already got a problem with M. Night Shyamalan, well there’s not much here to change your mind either. He hasn’t quite regained my full confidence, but I’m still a long way from writing the man off. — Sean
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: Signs, War of the Worlds, The Mist
Comments (8)
My review for The Happening:
After two amazing but generally misunderstood films M Night Shyamalan returns with The Happening. A title which has to be a candidate for the vaguest ever. As usual it has been nearly impossible to figure out what in the world the film is about beforehand, and that is just one of the reasons that Shyamalan with The Happening, again delivers a cinema experience like no other.
The Happening has a (for Shyamalan) brand new cast starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo, and (I’m sure to many peoples delight) no appearance by Shyamalan himself. Mark Wahlbergs performance in The Happening is incredibly difficult to get a hold of. His diction is among the strangest I can remember hearing a grown man speak, it is almost like when a finnish man questioningly tries his luck in English, and it can get annoying at times, but you can’t help but wonder why somebody would speak like that. It does make him alittle more interesting I think.
Zooey Deschanel in front of a camera is close to being the best idea since somebody came up with wrapping a sausage in bacon. She has a fantastic face, it can sometimes be distracting to the plot to have her in a close-up, and even though her acting gets alittle too cute at times, she carries it. She’s a coming star, who we’ll hopefully get to see a lot more of.
In his latest films Shyamalan has more or less attempted consciously to alienate the audience, and created plot threads, characters and entire universes so peculiar, special and seemingly disjointed that most people check out at the halfway point. The Happening is not as extreme as his latest two films, but it does contain elements which can be hard to swallow for a sceptic audience. But that is their loss. The only difference between The Happening and countless other Hollywood-movies with far out concepts, is that Shyamalan does not attempt to apologize for his ideas, and doesn’t try to shape an entire reality based around getting one little concept to work.
But The Happening is in no way inaccesible. This is Shyamalan in entertainmentmode, and he serves delicious set pieces with a flair and an elegance worthy of Steven Spielberg. The enormous difference is that Shyamalan in The Happening is cold, cynical, vicious and unforgiving. There is no dear mom in Shyamalans universe, there is no salvation, and that is wonderful! For once it actually hurts to watch an entertainmentfilm from Hollywood, and there are still some of us who appreciate that.
One of the most amazing things about Shyamalan is that he like no other living director can create uneasyness on the screen. His mood-driven tension is like a dial he can turn up or down anytime he wants. Horrorfilms usually don’t affect me, I’m not scared, they fall on their face. Shyamalan, with very simple methods, brings me completely into the mood – it’s pretty fucking scary man.
The Happening is an entertainmentfilm with an auteurflair that’s lacking in Hollywood. Even though Shyamalan in a way has gone back to the well to regain goodwill both among audiences and in the industry, he hasn’t forgotten himself. When you add to that craftsmanship on the level of a Stanley Kubrick, you’ve got a cinema experience which nobody should cheat themselves out of. The Happening is possibly this summers best American film!
I would give it 3 out of 4 stars.
Posted by Henrik on June 15th, 2008Interesting to note: Shyamalan does appear in the film, sort of. According to IMDB, he is the voice of Joey on Zooey Deschanel’s phone.
Posted by Sean on June 16th, 2008You liked Signs!? Sorry, I don’t mean to hate, but that movie suffers from severe Shyamalan (nonsense) logic. An intelligence capable of traversing the galaxy tries to break into cellars and forgot to even bring an axe? Scratch that; why can’t they just use their bare hands if they are strong enough to jump 20 ft in the air? They fail to realize after years of making crop circles that 70% of the Earth kills them upon a touch? Every breath would be like inhaling two cigarettes at once. That movie also marks when his cameos got ridiculous.
But as far as The Happening is concerned, my only surprise is that it didn’t get a dreaded one star that I’d give Lady in the Water. Mood and tension really are the only things Shyamalan understands. The change of genre from thriller/sci-fi to fantasy/action/drama in The Last Airbender trilogy will be Shyamalan’s much needed change of pace. I just wish he wasn’t writing the script for it.
Posted by Ryan on June 16th, 2008In hindsight, Signs has plenty of plot loopholes that you can dissect and pick apart, but it remains one of the most creepy and effective movie-going experiences I’ve ever had. I still stand behind it.
As for this Avatar movie he’s doing next, yeah it is definitely going to be odd, but you’re right, at least it’s something new for him. (Then again, he did write Stuart Little.)
Posted by Sean on June 16th, 2008In regular-sight Signs had plenty of plot holes. But people worry about that kind of stuff too much. Who cares if A and B line up just right? That’s how accountants watch movies.
Posted by Rusty James on June 16th, 2008I liked the way The Happening made me think of human population overshoot and collapse. Something will have to decrease the amount of humans on the earth. Shyamalan proposes that nature will take of it on her own, and we are totally unprepared for that possibility.
Posted by fdr on June 22nd, 2008Sean, I agree with you. Signs is Shyamalan’s most effective thriller, despite obvious plot holes. The Happening, on the other hand, is indeed quite terrible. Shyamalan is good at setting up suspense and establishing mood, and he fails miserably here. There was never any fear or a sense of dread, especially with the scenes of people committing suicide. Shyamalan rushes past them and doesn’t properly set them up.
Posted by Richard on June 27th, 2008I watched The Happening last night. I can appreciate the criticisms people have of his movies, but I’m on the side that appreciates an M. Night Shyamalan film. Not surprisingly, I agree totally with Henrik’s review.
I find Shyamalan’s commentary on his deleted scenes very interesting. Unlike other films, the deleted scenes themselves are worth watching. He says that he didn’t insert the deleted scenes for an unrated director’s cut, because the movie seen in theatres is his vision.
The deleted scene that was supposed to begin the film would have explained why Wahlberg’s character was so childlike and why the marriage was so unstable. Shyamalan thought it was backstory that explained too much to the audience. I think it would have made the movie make more sense to the “mainstream” audience. I like that Shyamalan is pretentious.
Does having a child shot with a shotgun make a film R-rated? Shyamalan could have easily made the film PG-13.
When Wahlberg finds the “mummified” child, you know that a scare is coming up, but you still jump when the scare occurs.
One strange thing that I’m wondering about is the transition from the scene where the woman accuses them of whispering and conspiring against her, and Wahlberg denies it, and then it’s the next morning with Wahlberg waking up. Did Shyamalan intend for the audience to imagine how difficult it would have been for everyone to get to sleep after that?
Posted by Reed Farrington on October 26th, 2008Leave a Reply