The Happening (2008)
In a nutshell: Mark Wahlberg, his wife, and the daughter of a coworker are literally running against the wind to try to save themselves from a strange and horrible phenomena that has taken over people's minds and forcing them to kill themselves.
I know this film has been getting more than its share of bad reviews, but you may want to first consider the source before giving any credibility to such reviews. In no way am I putting others down that did not enjoy this movie. I'm simply saying that there are some audiences who require an "in your face" type of direction within a movie, and that could have been what they expected out of this one. I admit I did too. Judging from the previews, I was sure there was going to be the obligatory final act of total mayhem where the camera frantically follows the mass hysteria of the characters, accompanied by some dramatic booming sound effects and a pulsating musical score. ....However this was not to be. Shyamalan keeps the tone of the film very subtle and understated. There were no over the top mass car collisions or train derailments or explosions. And I for one can appreciate this. Even though it could easily have lent itself to this style of direction given the plot, the actual focus of the film would have been compromised. It would have led us in the direction of the more typical natural disaster movies that we've all grown so accustomed to. (..Think Deep Impact or War of the Worlds or whatnot).
The climax of the movie is ironically anticlimactic because the cause of this strange phenomena was already presented to us on a platter at various points in the film for those of us paying attention. There was no "Aha!" moment at the end, and I can understand that some people may have a problem with not getting that big payoff at the finale.
Another reason I feel that some critics have given this a bad rating is because it's such an unconventional battle. The protagonist vs. the antagonist in this film is a bit hard for us to wrap our minds around, because the villain is not the typical bad guy. In fact, who the antagonist actually is in this movie could be debated. Our preconceptions of what a movie like this should be have a lot of us feeling uncomfortable and unsure with this film. And that can sometimes translate to a rejection of things that we can't reconcile.
But if you can appreciate the journey just as much as the destination, then I think you will ultimately enjoy this film. There were some very stylish and visually frightening moments in this film where I almost had to close my eyes because I knew what was coming next. Shyamalan is a master at giving the audience this exact feeling and he proves it again here.
A thought-provoking film that will satisfy you if you go into it with an open mind.
Movie Trailer
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