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As an avid supporter of M. Night Shyamalan and his films, I must say "The Happening" is by far the biggest disappointment of a film I have seen in some time. In what seems to perhaps be a desperate attempt on Shyamalan's part to provide his audience with something completely unique, he ends up with a film that fails to entertain, fails to please the eye and fails to surprise. The movie just plain fails at everything.

I give it a Double Bogey.

The story has a simple premise. There is a sudden attack of airborne chemicals that starts in New York City and spreads quickly through the entire north eastern United States. The chemicals in the air are causing humans to lose their self-preservation instinct and subsequently kill themselves. So, we have a monster we cannot see and cannot stop. It all works itself into a convenient metaphor for suggesting that humans are killing themselves by destroying the environment.

In a very general sense, although not nearly as effective, the story sets up a bit like Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." The killing force is seemingly everywhere and all the people can do is run and hope they find a way to survive the madness. Cars zoom off to escape town and people lock themselves in houses, hoping they have found a safe haven.

Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel are the lead actors for the film. They play Elliot and Alma Moore, a married couple with some problems. They live in Philadelphia as most of Shyamalan's characters do. Wahlberg and Deschanel may not be known as two of the finest actors Hollywood has ever seen, but their acting in this film hits an all time low for both of them. Maybe the characters don't suit their style, but there isn't one scene that seems to be pulled off in this entire movie.

In fact all the actors do a fairly poor job throughout which leads one to believe the problem may not be with the actors, but with the script. Often times the lines are spoken and the scenes are played out with the kind of insincere emotion one might witness at a sixth-grade school play.

Then there is the cinematography. Usually Shyamalan is known for some stunning shots, some nice camera work that lends an artistic element rarely seen in other films. There is none of that in "The Happening." There are even some scenes that look as if they could have been shot with a home video camera in the back yard. All artistic reasons aside, people don't pay money to see a movie with the kind of quality they could have made themselves.

Shyamalan has made some great films. "The Sixth Sense," "Signs," "Unbreakable," and "The Village" all have some good qualities. Some are more popular than others, but all at least seemed worth watching. "The Happening" is a waste of time. It is as if Shyamalan's ego got the better of him this time and he felt he could just throw out a movie with a transparent message and everyone would like it, soak it in, and praise him for his wisdom.

Learn more about this author, Jeremy Peters.
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