There's Something Happening Here

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2008)

The Happening (2008) ***
I should admit that I have a predilection for disaster flicks. My fascination with natural (or something like it)disasters on celluloid has lead me to give generally favorable reviews to otherwise not very strong films. I debated myself whether to go with a 2.5 star review or the positive 3 stars. I at first chose 2 1/2. I slept on it, and decided that I was interested enough in The Happening to kick it up half a star. This review is one of guilty pleasure, and may be against my critical judgment.
This movie is preposterous, hammy, cheesy, corny and silly. Despite that, its execution is clever, and its premise is terrifying and, to me, extremely intriguing.
An unknown natural disaster is affecting the North Eastern United States, beginning in New York City and spreading throughout the region. Eliott (Mark Whalberg) is a high school science teacher, who lectures his students on the disappearance of bees all over the country. He's soon after pulled out of his class room and informed that there is some kind of "event" happening. This event causes people to become disorientated, attacks their motor skills as they stand still or walk backwards, then triggers them to kill themselves. Suicides come en masse and no one is safe - other than animals. Eliott, his wife Alma (Deschanel), his friend Julien (Leguizamo) and his daughter hop a train to Pennsylvania in hopes that this "event" wont' be happening there. Of course it moves there, and they're train is stopped in the middle of nowhere after it loses contact with everyone. Stranded, they attempt to flee west, where the event is not happening. Julien, frantic over his wife who is in Princeton, heads off to find her, leaving his daughter with Eliott and Alma, who are struggling to keep their marriage afloat.
The origins of the "event" are not really in the end officially determined - its proposed that the plants have released toxins as a self-defense mechanism; others propose its an army experiment gone awry, to which the government refuses to comment upon. The plant theory is the most precedent among the group. This of course equals trouble since they're stuck in the middle of nowhere surrounded by forestation.
The Happening goes to some pretty extreme, and pretty silly lengths to get its message across. Some of the suicides are so over the top they're comical - I'm still unsure if Shyamalan was in on this little joke or not. There are other moments which seem to be added for nothing more than shock value. The movie is rated R, and it earns it with a number of moments.
Shyamalan certainly has a strong talent for direction and photography - the film shows that definitely - but he is deeply lacking in the writing department. Tracing back his films, there has always been a weakness in his writing - dialogue is often contrived and expositional when its unnecessary, dating from the Sixth Sense to Signs (both films which I like very much). Poor writing hurts The Happening, and there a few cringe worth moments of foolishness. There are scenes where it sounds as if voices were dubbed in later to explain what we just saw in case we didn't pick up on it ourselves. There is a scene near the end that offers this method of clarification, where the problem isn't actually that it was explained through dialogue (it probably needed it) but the manner it was done. A shot cuts to outside of a house, and Eliott's voice cues to sum up what just happened in one exposition heavy sentence, end scene. I'm not suggesting that I necessarily have a better way to clear this up, but its done so poorly that I simply must be possible. What comes after that is also extremely clichéd and entirely tacked on for no reason other than sentimental posturing. This of course is the fault of the writing. Oh, and also get ready for people to say the word "happening" or some variation thereof at every chance.
Nevertheless, Shyamalan's directing chops are still sharp, and there are some very effective moments throughout the film. The manner of how people are affected is not only interesting, but awesomely eery and creepy. There is something about seeing a entire park of people stop dead in their tracks and become disorientated that his a nerve. There are moments in the film where when these people stand still that it almost seems to take on the creepiness of a similar scene in a far different film. Alain Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad has a famous scene in which two people talk on balcony overlooking a garden at a hotel. The people in the garden stand entirely still as they cast shadows but plants and other fixtures cast none. I suspect that if you know this shot, it will make the scenes in The Happening that much creepier. The pacing of the movie (which has a fairly short run time) has been attacked as "too slow" and "nothing happens." I actually thought the pacing of the film was one of its strongest assets. It takes its time, and I enjoy that in a film.
From what I've said here I'm really not justifying giving this a positive review, however its the premise of the film, which I think is so deeply interesting and truly scary, that keeps this afloat, but may also damn it at the same time. I will say it here and now that I am disappointed, and frankly if it came out tomorrow that The Happening was being remade, I would jump to see it get a do-over. Either way, I was still entertained by this one.