nuance

I give it…3.5 out of 5

There has been a significant delay in my finishing and publishing this review, and the reason is mainly that it got long, and I ran out of time, and started other stuff, and whatnot. I debated putting it up at all, especially since I know most of my friends have seen this flick and pretty much hated it. But I think there are some valuable things in the film to make note of.

The film in question is M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening. I saw it with the fam on the day after Father’s Day. Because I’d read a few negative reviews and had literally three theater employees tell me they didn’t like it as I stood in line for snacks, my expectations were not super high.

In addition, one’s expectations could not get very high if they had seen Shyamalan’s last attempt, Lady in the Water. That one made me wish she stayed in the water and I stayed home.

I did not expect Night to return with total brilliance.

However, let me just say that I think the good director is more brilliant than most people give him credit for. Most folks - laypeople and movie review pros alike - will only give him props for The Sixth Sense and maybe, maybe for Signs. Many reviewers won’t even give him that. But in my view, Unbreakable and Signs are two of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. (Because it gives me rebel status [this guy kind of agrees with me!], I will here declare that Unbreakable is my absolute favorite of Night’s films.)

The Happening does not touch either of my two faves. It falls short in several categories; the storyline lacks depth and pace, there is not the same level of suspense or intrigue, cinematography starts strong but fizzles badly, and the acting/dialogue is just a bit forced and flat. There is a certain genius in the relationship between David and Audrey Dunn in Unbreakable; a certain quiet power that smacks of reality. The one between Elliot and Alma Moore in this movie is interesting, and more interesting than most are giving it credit for, but it is not quite on the level.

Without giving the full recap because it’s been done (and done better than I could do it), The Happs is a movie with a very overt environmental message; most people are categorizing it as eco-terror. The premise is that the human race is a threat to the earth, especially its flora and fauna; man’s destructive over-consumption (a la Agent Smith’s sermon in The Matrix) has elicited a response that views like the Apocalypse of Gore, if he was ever exiled to Patmos and subjected to visions that later inspired some director (Leo, maybe) to make a movie version. Hence the nod in the title.

The vegetable response is a SPOILER and at the same time not a SPOILER. And this has critics barking ‘cuz there’s no twist. The plot is all but resolved 45 minutes in: the plants and trees have sensed the human threat, have speedily evolved, and have begun emitting a deadly toxin that makes people hurt themselves - fatally. This is a cool idea, and the visual impact of people calmly being overcome by the toxin (it jams the brain’s survival mechanism and pumps up its self-loathing) and offing themselves is strong. I won’t soon forget bodies limply plummeting from the construction scaffolding and landing hard - one after the other - on the ground and in the dumpster. Or the street-level rolling shot of multiple people quietly shooting themselves, in prompt succession, with the same officer’s gun. Or the IPhone video of a lion tamer giving his cats some arms to snack on. Or the guy who turns on the big ride-on mower, jams the throttle, and lays himself down - carefully - in front of it as it rounds the corner.

As in all Night’s movies, there is a relationship at the center - and this one is between Elliot (Mark Wahlberg) and Alma (Zooey Deschanel), a young married couple and hero and heroine, respectively. There is something lacking here, as noted, but I was still moved by their situation; Alma has been involved in a secret flirtation at work that has made her distant. Elliot is concerned and devoted. In the craziness of the mass flight from the toxin - it begins in the cities and works its way into the country, - the truth about the flirtation is revealed, and Elliot’s character is also revealed; instead of anger, he responds with a joke about a pharmacist that communicates complete forgiveness in its levity. Alma whispers a thank you that rings with deep relief after days of guilt.

And this is key to the plot as well because Elliot, who is an average-dude science teacher, figured out that the plants and trees attack most aggressively when there are high numbers of people in the area. But in the end, they find themselves secluded at the country home of Mrs. Jones (Betty Buckley in a memorable bit-part) and yet still under attack. The crazy Mrs.’s paranoia gets the best of her and she blows up in anger and violence - only to be overcome by the toxin and make her face splatter-splatter on the window. Why would the plants attack in such a remote location?

The final bits of this scene have Elliot and Alma (and friend’s daughter Jess in a totally pointless role) separated in different houses while the wind swirls through the trees outside, apparently spreading the toxin all around. And it has the couple unwilling to wait and die alone. They both step outside - a suicidal act! - only to find themselves unharmed as they calmly approach each other and embrace. And we realize that there was a second factor involved in the plants’ deadly response - not just population but human anger triggered the toxin, too, and Elliot and Alma were spared because Elliot especially is a truly peaceful person.

I liked this element because it was not attempting to be a twist, and yet it was a fitting, sensible end to an interesting little fable. And the message is even a bit inspiring - that there is something strong and heroic about being a person of peace. If the meek inherit the earth, and the peacemakers are blessed, and our God is truly one who revealed himself as a subversive Prince of peace in a world ruled by violence and destruction, then perhaps we should take a cue from Mr. Night.

And if we were in the mood, we could even be inspired to pray: Thy kingdom happen, thy will happen, here on earth as it is, in fact, happening in heaven.