The Happening
Was in the neighborhood of the dollar movies yesterday and slipped into a cool empty theater for a view of the M Night Shyamalan film (more than a flick) The Happening. I liked it, with reservations.
Technically, I love the way he puts together a film. The acting is sincere and human. There are relationships at the heart of it. Fears - part of life - are natural and they spoke to me. The imagery was effective, disturbing, sneaky and yet consistent. Not flaky or indulgent. The brutal parts fit. The weirdness flowed right out of the stirred pot. You hoped along with the characters and were put on the lookout for the dangers.
There was some preaching. But the preaching was (to me) sensible and not pulpit pounding.
With a limited palette - trees, wind and human craziness - Shyamalan reached into the modern mind. And out comes a good story. A good story, if not purely modern.
Technically, I love the way he puts together a film. The acting is sincere and human. There are relationships at the heart of it. Fears - part of life - are natural and they spoke to me. The imagery was effective, disturbing, sneaky and yet consistent. Not flaky or indulgent. The brutal parts fit. The weirdness flowed right out of the stirred pot. You hoped along with the characters and were put on the lookout for the dangers.
There was some preaching. But the preaching was (to me) sensible and not pulpit pounding.
With a limited palette - trees, wind and human craziness - Shyamalan reached into the modern mind. And out comes a good story. A good story, if not purely modern.
