by Wayne Reeves

Created on: June 11, 2010

‘The Happening’ is another movie from the pen of prolific writer/director M. Night Shyamalan.  Ever since the ‘The Sixth Sense’ in 1999, any project, with Shyamalan’s name attached to it, is usually held (by many) in the highest regard and achieves a reasonable amount of box-office success.  Many years removed from ‘Sense’s power to captivate and surprise, the films which followed have been less remarkable.

It is a normal day in New York city, until a strange ‘happening’ occurs where people begin to act in a bizarre fashion, ultimately deciding to end their lives.  Slowly a state of emergency is called and people must avoid whatever is taking place (no one is sure what actually is causing the deaths).

Mark Wahlberg plays a high-school science teacher (Elliot Moore) living and working in New York city, his wife Alma (played by Zooey Deshanel) appears to be a troubled soul, going through some emotional issues at home.

Not long after events are unfolding, Moore, his wife, and close friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and his daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez) are all set to leave the city by train.  This is where the film begins to lack some element of credibility.  

Slowly the science of the situation appears to show itself (to Moore), and the absurdity of the predicament is all too real to watch.  What began as a straight-faced horrific story slowly evolves into a ludicrous humans-versus-planet type scenario.  

The revelation needs a strong character to hold the nonsense together, sadly, Wahlberg delivers the lines in such a wide-eyed, mystified fashion, he immediately looks miscast as the lead actor.  He has had better roles (where he isn’t necessarily the key component to hold a movie) but fails to bring a sense of realism to what turns into a short-story idea, extended far too long over a very generous 91 minutes.

One sequence in particular makes very little dramatic sense; meeting up with an old woman, Mrs. Jones (Betty Buckley); it turns the movie around and presents an odd tone, feeling totally removed and isolated from the rest of the narrative.

As with many of Shyamalan’s films, the actual scenario or backdrop the characters are involved in seems to be secondary, it is the bridging of the characters emotions and issues which are the aim of the story.  This could be seen as cheating the audience of what it hoped to see; if a serious relationship drama is what is desired then make that movie, don’t hide it away in a weak story and promo it as something entirely different.  

Aside from a fairly effective opening, the story lacks any real drive and purpose thereafter; it feels too long and drawn out - not really knowing how to finish with a satisfying finale.  This film is anything but happening.

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