The Happening

Wilsford's Review

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Notable Characters:
Mark Wahlberg – Elliot Moore
Zooey Deschanel – Alma Moore
John Leguizamo – Julian
Ashlyn Sanchez - Jess

Plot (contains spoilers):
One morning two friends are sitting on a park bench in Central Park talking when one of them can’t remember what page they were on. She repeats herself and then sits motionless. When she stops talking the other friend realizes that everyone has stopped moving. That is when friend one takes a pin out of her hair and jabs it into her throat. A block away a construction worker falls off a building. The other workers on the ground rush over to help. Then another body falls, then another, and another. In Philidelphia, Elliot Moore and Julian are pulled out of class for a teacher’s meeting. That is where they learn about the incidences and that they are spreading. School is canceled for the day and Julian decides to leave the city. He invites Elliot and Alma even though Julian does not like Alma due to her treatment of Elliot. On the way out the train stops because they have lost contact with everyone. Julian desperate to get in contact with his wife, who had to leave the city later, hitches a ride to New Jersey leaving Elliot and Alma to take care of his daughter Jess. Still not knowing the cause of the incident, the three get a ride but when the hit a crossroad cars coming from the other directions report that people there have committed suicide. They are left with one option, to hike in the only direction they have left. They split into two groups and the wind starts blowing. As one group is making their way, the wind passes through and one by one people start stopping and the inevitable starts. Elliot’s group, which is much smaller, happens upon a house, which is unfortunately inhabited by a crazy old woman. While in the house the wind picks up and Elliot finds himself in a cupboard while Alma and Jess are locked up in a shed. Able to communicate through a pipe in the ground, Elliot decides that he doesn’t want to die by himself and walks outside to them. A few months later Elliot and Alma have adopted Jess, reconciled their marriage, and are having a baby of their own. Also scientists discover the source of the event, it was the trees. The planet is warning us.

Reasons why I didn’t like it:
• The ending was lame. Usually M. Night Shyamalan’s movies have a big twist in the end that wasn’t revealed earlier in the movie as a possibility. About halfway through the idea that it might be the trees was said and I felt that it really cut down the suspense because you knew what the cause was. I thought it would have been better if we never knew what the cause was and all possibilities were plausible.
• In the end it stopped being a movie and started being a platform. One of the last scenes is the scientist telling us that it was the trees and that the planet is warning us. Right there I felt that Shyamalan stopped making a movie to entertain and used his movie to promote his political view. Don’t do that to me. If you want to make a political movie then make one that I won’t go see. I want to see a movie and be entertained not lectured.
• Unnecessary gore. They really promoted this movie as Shyamalan’s first R rated movie and most of the gore, which caused it to be R rated, was dumb and really cheapened the movie. His other movies are suspenseful because he leaves the gore up to our imagination, while he does do this some in the movie, most of unrealistic and really brought the movie down.

Reasons why I liked it:
• It was suspenseful. I know I just got done saying close to the opposite but it was, and I would say that it might be his most suspenseful. The whole time with the crazy old woman had me freaked out. The idea that all these people are running from something that they can’t see is thrilling. The scenes where he did leave the gore to our imagination were very suspenseful. The climatic scene where Elliot and Alma walk out into the wind had me on the edge of my seat.
• The acting was pretty good. I know a lot of people say it was bad but after talking with Nate I did change my opinion. All the actors overacted their parts and seemed to play them as little children. Now some people will say that that is bad acting but it had to be done on purpose because everyone in the movie acted like that. So the question is what is the purpose? I would guess, going along with Shyamalan’s political view (see 2nd point under why I didn’t like it), that he did that to show that we as a society are naïve, think like little children, about our place in the world with respect to Mother Earth. I think that makes sense.
• This movie displayed why Shyamalan is a great moviemaker. A lot of people say that Shyamalan’s movies are good because of the twist endings but I would argue that he is great because he has the ability to tell an original story with an interesting plot filled with unique characters and it is the development of his characters that sets him apart from other moviemakers. The reason the scene where Elliot and Alma brave the wind is because of their personal journey through the movie. They start off as a couple on the brink of break up and go to a couple that chooses to die together. To me that is where the movie is.

Final Notes: By far this movie has given me the most trouble on what grade to give it. I think it shows why he is good but it also has a lot of problems with it. Don’t go see it for the surprise ending, as it will leave you wanting. Go see it for the reasons that Shyamalan is great.

Young's Review

Too much pre-release hype can be a dangerous thing for a new movie. When a film is overexposed before it even hits theaters, a backlash can occur once the public actually sees it.

M. Night Shyamalan's latest film 'The Happening' was widely trumpeted as the visionary filmmaker's first R-rated picture, which has led to much speculation as to whether the rating is just a gimmick to draw viewers to see a bad movie. In this critic's opinion the hype was overblown, and I am giving the film a 'thumbs up'.

The movie begins with strange occurrences of death happening all over New York City. People are impulsively finding ways to kill themselves, whether it be by jamming a hairpin into their throat (hello R-rating!) or by walking off of a building. The scene shifts to Philadelphia, where we meet high school teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg). He is in the middle of a class when he is interrupted for an emergency staff meeting. The principal informs Elliot and his colleagues of a terrorist attack in New York. To be safe, the students are being sent home.

Elliot decides to leave town with his wife Alma (Zoey Deschanel), his close friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and Julian's daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez). In the process of fleeing town and amid rising public panic, Julian leaves Jess behind with Eliot and Alma to go look for his wife in New Jersey. Thus begins an eerie journey to safety for the newly formed family.

This film is unlike anything Shyamalan has ever done. It is like a mix between a second rate horror movie spoof and an old episode of 'The Twilight Zone'. It has more of a creepy science fiction feel than his other work. While there is more gore than in his other films (thus the rating), it doesn't feel over the top. The pacing is a little slower than his other work as well, and it works in this case.

I liked the film for several reasons. First, Shyamalan's direction of his cast is dynamite and it leads to some comic relief in an otherwise tense film. Wahlberg has been panned by many film critics for being too melodramatic and over the top. My interpretation is that this is exactly what Shyamalan is going for and it is the right decision. A scene where Eliot finds out his wife lied about having coffee with another man is not sappy but hilarious because of Wahlberg's genuine hurt about being left in the dark.

The writing is top notch, as is to be expected from a Shyamalan script. The film does not have an overly complicated plot, yet kept me mesmerized throughout. The concept of a country's paranoia over a possible terrorist attack is fitting in today's social climate, and the way in which Shyamalan handles the public's panic is spot on.

The cast is great. I clearly am in the minority here, but I am a big fan of Wahlberg. He has proven in the past that he can do a fun popcorn movie ('The Italian Job'), a feel good underdog sports flick ('Invincible'), and even be a scene stealer in a lesser role ('The Departed'). Here, Wahlberg is perfectly over the top as Eliot and I honestly could not see anyone else playing the part. Deschanel, who delivered a brilliant performance in the underseen cable miniseries 'Tin Man' last year, is also a great casting choice as the offbeat Alma.

The film may leave some M. Night fans seething, either because of the lack of a trademark big twist or because of the relatively tame ending, but I thoroughly enjoyed this creepy homage to second rate horror films of days gone by.

Oh, and one more thing: don't be ashamed when you jump through the roof because of the creepy old lady. I did the same thing.