DoctorEss reviews The Happening

When people absolutely loath a film, you know going in, that it can go either way. It may turn out to be as bad as they say. Or maybe you see something in it that appeals to you personally. Maybe it will turn out to be appreciated in 10 or 15 years. In the case of THE HAPPENING, this isn't quite the "career-ending" film we've been told it was but it is, far and away, M. Night's worst film and a disappointment of not-so-epic proportions.

You won't find a bigger M. Night apologist or true fan. I even liked LADY IN THE WATER. I got that it was kid's fairy tale like story. I got what he was doing there. I thought his acting was ridiculous but that was a small issue in that film to me. This guy has real talent. But, with the exception of UNBREAKABLE, M. Night's work has progressively gotten worse. SIGNS is strong until the last 20 minutes. THE VILLAGE is great until about half way when the reveal comes out and takes all the tension out of the film. LADY IN THE WATER's first 1/4 and last 1/4 are strong but the rest is more filler writing than it should be.

That being said, when I read the script reviews of THE HAPPENING, it sounded like this could be the big one to restore M. Night to his former glory. But as I watched, I felt like a teacher who was watching their brightest student turn in his worst work. I know he can do better. But he gives a disjointed effort that comes off being almost inept in many ways and can't even be compared on the same playing field of some of his other films. Seriously, what happened here?

What worked:

The bodies that drop from the construction site is so well done. The sound effects are perfect and it really is eerie. The rest of the film can't keep up with scenes like this. That scene is really well executed.

There is a scene where there is a sort of "round robin" suicide using the same gun as each person progressively picks it up, kills themselves and the gun falls to the ground where it is picked up by the next person, etc. The camera stays on the gun and at ground level so we don't actually see the head, just the hand picking it up, the gun shot sound, some blood fall to the ground, and the gun fall down again. It is a clever scene and very effective.

What didn't work:

The girls in the park at the beginning of the film are absolutely TERRIBLE! The dialog is delivered in the most stilted and fake way. It is almost a joke when you first see it. The violence erupts so quickly (after being shown opening credits overlayed on clouds in the sky (BTW: What a lame way to start the film)), that you have no time to absorb it and you have no care for the characters or what they are doing. It almost looks like a parody at first. That's how poorly this opening scene is shot.

When Wallberg starts talking to the plant, the film really jumps the shark. You will know it when you see it.

The supposedly "foreboding" musical score of the film is "B" movie quality at best. It sounds so out of place.

I don't think the problem is with Wallberg or his weird high-pitched voice he keeps using. Rather, I think the problem is in the dialog. There is TOO MUCH! He goes on and on explaining everything that seemlingly comes into his mind like a motor mouth. It goes to the point where you just want him to shut up.

The scene where the zoo keeper sits there while Tiger's eat his arms off is beyond ridiculous. You see that scene, and suddenly you will think "M Night is really smart. I wonder if this is just a cleverly hidden comedy?" It is that bad. But it is so earnest in other places that scenes like the tiger end up being beyond lame when you think back on it.

M Night is a strong director. He has an eye for setup. So why the HELL did he use a slow motion shot of John Leguizamo's face as he leaves his daughter to go find his wife. It is something that would be done on a made for TV Sunday night movie. SO bad!

OPEN LETTER TO M. NIGHT: M, Call Bruce Willis! You know how to direct him (or maybe he directs himself) but with this cast, you are WAY off your game. Most of these actors have been good in other films so it can't all be their fault. We can't blame it on the script because YOU WROTE THAT TOO! Find somebody you can work with again that inspires you. The biggest weakness of this film is the acting. Seriously. You are a great director and have pulled some strong performances in the past. Take some time off, go make that AVATAR kid's movie. Maybe work on someone else's material again. Humble yourself. Go be a 2nd unit director on a couple of films for Ridley Scott or Speilberg or whatever. Then come back and make a truly great film like I know you can. I know you can do it but you aren't giving us a lot to work with here. It is getting increasingly hard to defend you.