Though M. Night Shyamalan’s recent endeavors, most notably THE VILLAGE and THE LADY IN THE WATER, were interesting in their own way, they were still failures. They were never catastrophic ones though because they were conceptual missteps. The ideas propelling the fundamental plot were flawed, but the craft in telling the narrative still demonstrated Shyamalan to be an excellent filmmaker.
THE HAPPENING, unfortunately, is not only a monumental conceptual failure, it’s also one on every level of craft. It is, I’m sad to say, nothing less than an outright bad – even ridiculous – film and most certainly Shyamalan’s worst. As a fan of the man, and general defender of him and his films (see here), I say that with sadness and a heavy, defeated sulk.
The beginning is eerie enough. A certain strange toxin appears to be causing people to kill themselves. Nobody is sure who or what is doing it. “Terrorists” is the immediate explanation but as the suicides become more prevalent, and begin occurring in smaller locations, that seems to be a slimmer possibility. Shyamalan handles the opening in his usual impressive way. His mastery of producing tension manifests itself here in how he manages to create an unsettling feeling in you as you watch the sinister scenes of people killing themselves (further accentuated by Shyamalan’s trademark calm visual style). There are some fantastic sequences here, some of which rank among some of Shyamalan’s most effective.
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With THE HAPPENING hitting theatres today, in the last weeks the poor guy has had to sustain no-end of interviews, most of which go right for the jugular and ask all sorts of questions ranging from the declining successes (financial and creative) of his films, to the Michael Bamberger book that seemed to fuel even more Shyamalan hate, to his increasingly poor standing in the industry. There have been prominent interviews in everything from Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times, to Cinematical, and with each new one it seems like his face is getting rubbed more and more into the dirt.
I just put myself in his shoes, imagining how hard it must be to go from interview to interview having to deal with these questions. Yes, you could argue its part of taking on the kind of career path he’s taken, but he’s still a human being in the end. It just makes me really sympathize for the guy because it seems like he’s been on the defensive for years now, with the assaults growing more aggressive and in number. Bullshit like this, this, or this, doesn’t help either. Or put it this way: how do you think you would feel if you made some mistakes and had to spend your next few years continually answering for them?
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I owe M. Night Shyamalan. I probably wouldn’t have finished my MA in Film without him, given that my 90 + page thesis was on him and his films. Perhaps that’s a silly thing to say, given that he didn’t do anything personally for me in getting the thing done, and writing about him was my own personal choice. But when you find a subject is able to yield enough fruitful material to help you finish that kind of massive project, you can’t help but feel a certain obligation.
It’s why despite the increasingly building bad buzz surrounding the soon to be released THE HAPPENING, I’m still going to see it. I can’t say I’m excited about it though, because I actually know what’s “happening” in the film, what’s making everybody killing themselves and banging on those doors in the trailers. Without spoiling anything it’s so utterly ridiculous (and potentially unintentionally funny), so difficult to realize, let alone make scary, that I doubt even someone like Shyamalan can pull it off.
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GET SMART
I loved GET SMART as a kid, so when I heard that particular television show was yet the latest to receive a feature film treatment, I was wary. Then I heard Steve Carell was cast in the role of bumbling, inept spy, Maxwell Smart, and small hopes were kindled, because if anyone was perfect for the role it was him. Now that the trailer has come out, I can even say I’m a little excited, because it looks like those involved totally nailed the silly spirit of the original show. It’s also the ideal vehicle for someone with Carell’s comedic talents, if the “I’m so happy” scene doesn’t prove it. Also I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard anyone in a film ever say “We’re not people who jam staples into other people’s heads,” let alone see someone actually do that. On a totally unrelated note, when did Anne Hathaway turn into such a hottie?
Watch the trailer here.
THE LOVE GURU
It’s been five years since Mike Myers last live-action performance (I don’t really count 2003’s THE CAT IN THE HAT, because he basically was an animated character in it), so you would think the guy would make a bit of an effort to bring something new to the table in his new film THE LOVE GURU. Instead, based on this trailer, we just get the same old Mike Myer jokes recycled. Again, there’s dance numbers, the border-line embarrassing comedic use of a little person, there’s a spin on the “Mole” spiel he did in AUSTIN POWERS: GOLDMEMBER, and your run of the mill penis jokes. Sure, there are some gems here (The “Then my Mom got a job” bit, for example), but it’s all just jokes we’ve seen him do too many times before. Actually, the funniest thing going in this trailer is – of all things – Justin Timberlake’s humorous Québécois impression.
As a Canadian though, I do have to chuckle at the fact that long-time Toronto Maple Leafs fan Mike Myers found a way for his team to actually be Stanley Cup contenders, even if it’s in a fictional world. Sure, a bit hard to believe, given the current state of the team, but no more unbelievable then Jessica Alba playing their general manager or Romany Malco playing their star player (seriously, he looks ridiculous in the Leafs uniform).
Watch the trailer here.
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