Too Much or Too Little... I Can't Decide

Rating: 7/10 (23 June 2008)

I suppose this movie is likable. It works. It succeeds at telling a story, and is a nice return for Shamyalan. But... Is it just me, or is both too much and too little shown? I wonder: Do we really need to see all of the violence that there is in the film, if it's only backed up by an unsatisfying, relatively non-violent ending? I also wonder: Can the sentimentality of the film be backed up without more characterization of Elliott and Alma and the situation of their relationship? Let's start with the "too much" idea first. Why do we need to see Central Park being affected by whatever it is, whatever you want to call it? Why do we need to see workers jumping off of a building? Would it not be more frightening to simply hear about the events through radio broadcasts? The uncertainty would definitely scare me more than seeing what is actually happening. Granted, the "seeing" part of things is wonderfully mastered. It just doesn't invoke terror as simply hearing about the events might. To move on with the "too little" idea... Wahlberg and Deschanel are both talented, but are not given enough to really work with. The opening scenes make Deschanel like she does not have the slightest idea what she is doing on film. She simply stares at her phone. This induces more laughs than curiosity. Alma's relationship with Elliott just exists. When Leguizamo's character tells Elliott that he saw Alma crying on their wedding day, it does not offer any real insight. Seeing Alma and Elliott interact makes me think of them being more like strangers than being husband and wife. More interaction between them, aside from the obvious dialogue, would help to bring credibility to the unjustified ending. As for other complaints... The supporting cast of characters is predictably killed off, although the violence hardly ever becomes too graphic. One of the biggest complaints I can register against the movie is the whole reason for the events. Plants? The film would have been better off without any explanation whatsoever. That, as well, would have added to the horror. Still, I did more or less like the movie. It did what it came to do, and did it well enough to be more than simply passable, but not well enough to be admirable. There just should have been more or less than there was.