The Happening

Review by M.G. Wood

After the miraculous success of THE SIXTH SENSE (1999), M. Night Shyamalan must have felt like an UNBREAKABLE (2000) super hero; an unstoppable force with an innate ability to channel the innermost spiritual longings of America. Post 9/11, Americans were aching for SIGNS (2002), a film about a man (Mel Gibson) shaken in his faith by events beyond his control. Unfortunately, THE VILLAGE (2004) portrayed a transformation from life-affirming spirituality to fear and trembling aka “us” against “them”. Even though Shyamalan once again tapped into a certain truth in American society at the time, Americans were less than willing to own up to their new way of thinking, delivering M. Night Shyamalan his first box office flop. This led to a writer’s confused search for meaning and direction with THE LADY IN THE WATER (2006).

Now, after much soul-searching, M. Night Shyamalan has concluded, like the classic margarine commercial from the 70’s exclaimed, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!”

Maybe, it’s not a world gone mad, so much as an earth pissed off.

In classic Shyamalan fashion, THE HAPPENING (2008) opens with a series of striking scenes involving what appears to be unrelated suicidal behavior. But, as the number of fatal occurrences multiplies, Americans jump to the obvious conclusion in Modern Times: it must be a biological terrorist attack.

Mark Wahlberg plays a science teacher (yes he does) named Eliot who is going through a rough patch with his wife Alma played by the lovely Zooey Deschanel. Before he and his class learn about the ugly happenings going on around them, Eliot asks the class if they are aware that the honey bee population in the world is slowly dying off (true fact). After a brief “Bueller, Bueller; anybody, anybody” moment passes, Eliot wonders aloud if anybody has a theory as to why the bees are dying. No one really does, and it really doesn’t matter, because this question foreshadows the mystery of the film, as well as the resolution.

Once people start dropping like flies; convinced terrorists are targeting major metropolitan areas, Eliot and Alma exit the city with John Leguizamo and his young daughter.

Once on the train out of town, Eliot and Alma separate. As the passengers worry and fret over where this is all going, and how it all will end; one wonders how Hitchcock would have handled this material, and if he would have left everyone on the train, and built the tension there, ala LIFEBOAT (1944). But, of course M. Night Shyamalan is a disciple of Spielberg, not Hitch, so he must stop the train and get these people off and moving through different locations.

Even though the sense of foreboding is less than nerve-rattling, Shyamalan’s direction is precise enough to keep the audience on edge, aided by the gorgeous cinematography by Tak Fujimoto and perfect Hitchcockian music provided by James Newton Howard.

After a series of unfortunate events, Eliot and Alma are left to take care of John Leguizamo’s daughter.

And to be honest with you, I don’t really remember what happened between the time everyone was expelled from the train and the arrival of the super Betty Buckley as a nutty old shut-in living in a big creepy house in the middle of nowhere. All I know is, if I were to ever see this movie again, I believe I will be less than patient to get there.

Not simply because the creepiness factor is ratcheted up at this point, but the most well-written, emotionally effective scene Shyamalan has written since THE SIXTH SENSE occurs when Eliot and Alma are isolated in two rooms; Eliot in the main house, Alma in the well house directly behind; connected by a pipe through which they can speak. The scene revolves around a mood ring that Eliot still wears. The ring apparently played a significant role in the couple’s courtship. And for fear I’ll ruin the movie for you, suffice it to say, it’s just a great piece of writing.

The ambivalence of the final shot, set in Paris (the scourge of Post 9/11 America), proves M. Night Shyamalan has taken a step forward as a filmmaker, by setting aside his natural inclination to fantasize and prosthelytize; aiming more for the mind, rather than the soul.