Friday evening, my brother and I agreed to meet Dee and Chris at the movies to see M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie The Happening. Some of you may remember that I posted the trailer for it back in February. Well, a problem with the theater occurred, and only Daniel and I saw the movie. Dee and Chris didn’t miss much… I wasted 2 hours of my life that I will never get back.
SPOILER ALERT:I had been warned by reviews and friends that M. Night’s latest movie was not his best, and definitely had environmentalist themes. So I thought I was prepared for anything… I was wrong. I was so disappointed in The Happening. M. Night smacks you over the head with the fact that we aren’t taking care of the earth… Therefore the earth will destroy us. The movie started out promising: our main character is a man (Elliot) who acknowledges that evolution is just a theory (and not in the scientific sense of the word). But, our story doesn’t continue in this path. Shortly everyone learns that people are dying in NYC, and it started in parks. Elliot and his wife (Alma) flee Philadelphia, and just in time… Philadelphia, and many other places in New England are being hit by this strange attack.
Elliot and Alma end up with a man and his wife trying to get out of New England. This nursery owner and wife (who look like hippie throwbacks) have a theory. The plants have evolved to protect themselves. The plants have been threatened by humans, and they are striking back. The plants communicate between themselves, and have coordinated an attack. (This man also talks to his plants like he would talk to a newborn infant.) Elliot thinks he might be crazy… but, he soon discerns the truth. The plants are attacking humans; they have evolved quickly and now emit a toxin that inhibit the self-preservation instinct in humans. In short, humans will then start committing suicide. Elliot figures it out, the plants are attacking smaller and smaller groups of people… until one person could set off the plants. But, when Elliot decides that he must rejoin his wife even if he dies trying to get to her, the attack is suddenly over. But, the handy-dandy scientist on TV can explain it all: plants rapidly evolved to protect themselves, and this first attack was just a warning. If we don’t learn the lesson this time, the plants will attack again. But this time, they will wipe us out.
Okay, I didn’t leave the theater in the middle of the movie. Though maybe I should have. Repeated references to “acts of nature” and evolution being the answer to the attacks were troubling to me. Mother Earth coming to kill the nasty humans comes to mind… As the message of this film. If we don’t wise up, the plants will destroy us.
On a better note, M. Night’s cinematography is wonderful as always. His camera angles are fascinating, and I love watching his movies. He still has problems with graphics and CGI; he hasn’t learned much since Signs. But, even though I have loved every M. Night movie I have seen, I couldn’t get past the save the earth mentality or maybe even worship it… after all it seems all powerful in this movie. If we don’t learn its message, It will wipe us out. Alright, if you can’t already tell… I don’t recommend this movie. The only part I could have enjoyed was drowned out by the environmentalist mentality. In other words, the reconciled story of Elliot and Alma was not enough to counterbalance the tree hugger mallet hitting me in the head. The Lord tells us to exercise dominion over the earth to care for it, but also to use it… We don’t and MUST NOT worship it…
Those of you who love this film should not be offended. In fact, if you can convince me this film is worth more than I believe, great!
9 comments:
Thanks for the review, Laura. I'd been eager to read it. The pictures were great, and you wrote it up well. I'm going off to sort my thoughts, and then I'll let you know my conclusion. ;)
Hey, do you think Jess looks like Hannah A.?
If Jess is the girl in the 2nd picture Laura posted, then YES! Of course, I think Nan is cuter...
As for the actual movie, I never had any plans to see it and it sounds like I didn't miss much! I don't like M. Night very well, but I also hate it when I'm the only one not in the loop... (Well, with Kee and Kes!) It sounds like it was TERRIBLE!
Ok, this is a post that's 3 days in the making, because it's taken me that long to figure out (at least a bit *more*) what my opinion is of The Happening. What's the most confusing about it all is that Caleb and Liz (Sarah's fam) walked out having really liked it, and thinking it was about family and relationships, you walked out thinking it was about not harming the earth (an environmentalist message),and our small group walked out with comments on both spectrums and everywhere in between. ;) After reading articles, watching interviews, and talking and thinking about it, here are my general conclusions (for the moment :D):
1. M. Night Shyamalan was thinking about his American Indian background when he made this movie. He likes the idea of a close relationship to nature, and he thinks that certain things we do harm the planet. He wanted people to nervously wonder if something like what happened in the film could *actually* happen.
2. Though there is an environmentalist push to the movie, there's something about faith there, too. Mark Wahlberg says M. Night cast him because of his faith, and when someone asked M.W. why Elliot had survived, he said it was because Elliot had so much faith and hope. Zooey said that the movie's inspiring people to think about things, and that she came of the film questioning her own beliefs. And the actor who plays Julian hasn’t seen the movie; he says he’s a pagan, and he laughingly said, “People who have no faith weren’t allowed to see it.” M.W. responded, “No, because it will convert you, baby. You will be touched by the hand of God. Trust me.”
3. The movie is also about relationships—how we treat others. Here’s what M. Night said, “The movie’s really about the state of where we are now in the world—the paranoia, how we feel toward strangers, to each other, to other countries, to everything. In the sense that we don’t trust anybody. I was saying that Mrs. Jones is kind of the ultimate version of her character. Like, if she kept on going, she would close off everything and distrust everybody. So we went that way in talking about her, and really that’s the part of me that wants to protect myself, and kind of jokes about it, and tries to undermine it, but it’s really a delicate thing of me to kind of go, “It’s better to protect myself. Let me protect myself like everybody else is protecting themselves.” Which is exactly the opposite of what I tell my kids. I tell them, “Be completely vulnerable. Take every hit you can, because that’ll allow you to feel all those great things that are gonna come—love, all the joy, creativity, all that stuff. It will always outweigh the amount of hits you’re gonna get.”
Mrs. Jones was the biggest example in the movie of someone with terrible relationships. She was a bitter, isolated woman who had no clue about how to treat another person, and I think that’s why she also had the most dramatic death…to make a point.
M. Night also said we used to be afraid of being alone—that people always thought it was safer to be together. But now we’re afraid to stick our kids in the backyard, because of what the neighbors might do, when the neighbors are really wonderful people. We’re way more scared now, but nothing has changed (he says) except for our level of fear. And the fear builds, until we get more and more isolated, like Mrs. Jones, until the fear has been realized—we’re all alone.
4. This is getting enormously long, and there’s still more I could say (like how the people’s deaths were caused by their own hands…sort of like the way Noah felt in the Village…you can run and hide all you want from *bad* things, but there’s still going to be sin inside you). :) M. Night has a certain moralistic feel to his movies—his main characters rarely even *kiss.* “Just” going out for dessert and waiting to have kids is shown in a negative light, while couples/families getting back together is a major theme. “Don’t take her hand unless you mean it.”
As for the waste of time…I’ve really enjoyed discussing it with you, and I’m glad you saw it just so we could. :)
YES!!! I did think that Jess looks like Hannah... I even leaned over and said so to Daniel during the movie.
Tricia,
I can't wait to reply to your comments, but I need to go visit with my Aunt... I'll try to comment more tomorrow.
Thanks!
Tricia,
I am finally sitting down to reply... Thanks so much for your input.
You really saw the family aspect of the film. Unfortunately, I couldn't really SEE it. :) I think attending a liberal university makes me more wary of liberal message (be they really there or not...) Thanks for all the quotes from Night. Did he mean it just to be a film about family? Or did he intend a environmental message too?
It's funny you mentioned Elliot and Alma surviving... I told Daniel I thought they should have died too. I realize this is a strange comment, but I thought it was an exclusively environmental film. Therefore, if Night would be true to his message (of humans destroying the earth--plants saving themselves, etc.)Elliot, Alma, and Jess had to die... But your quotes seem to intend another message... Hmm... I won't watch it again in theaters, but maybe I'll rent it. And watch it to look for what you pointed out. I still think Night should have done a better job displaying his family theme, but I'm trying to see that it is there. :)
I told Chris that I would never buy it. In fact, I may have told him I would never watch it again. That just goes to show me: NEVER SAY NEVER! ;-)
What is your favorite Night film? Do you think The Happening is one of his best?
Hi Laura!
I was looking forward to replying to this all day. Thanks for YOUR input. Because people are different, they sometimes see different aspects in movies/books/life!, etc., and that’s why it’s so much fun to exchange comments.
I think Night wanted The Happening to have a message about respecting plants/nature AND about relationships and trusting people. I started thinking about the lack of trust people have on the internet, and YES, there are evil lurkers and stalkers, but seriously… For example, I hadn’t wanted the people on the Sense and Sensibility board to know my name was Tricia. Not that I didn’t trust them...I guess I didn’t want to reveal too much of myself. Well, I felt very strongly that I should no longer hide behind “Erica,” and I switched to calling myself Tricia on there. I’m not condemning anyone else who chooses to keep a fake name—people have lots of reasons why they prefer to not use their real name, but that aspect of the movie really did get me thinking.
I’ve heard people talk about the government, air lines, etc. with absolutely NO trust—always assuming that they’re trying to cheat them out of *something,* and I think that’s bad for us as a society. I don’t want to be the next Mrs. Jones. :-p
I agree—if Elliot, Alma, and Jess would’ve died, there would’ve definitely been a stronger environmentalist message. When Elliot said, “I’m coming outside,” and then you see Alma and Jess walking out of the shed, I thought at any moment, they were all going to commit suicide and the movie would end. You know, they wanted to be together so much that they would DIE to do it. It sounds terrible, doesn’t it? Which is why I’m so thankful the movie *didn’t* end that way!
Well, if you do see it again (renting sounds like a good idea; I wouldn’t want to see it again in theaters either), please tell me what you think. I like Night’s movies because they make me *ponder*. Except maybe for Signs (which I thought was really clear), all of his movies require some scraping off the surface to find the hidden meaning.
What’s *your* favorite Night film? Second favorite? My favorite movie of all is The Village, which means that’s my favorite Night film too. ;) And my second favorite movie of all is Signs (tied with North and South), so… :) But after that would be Lady in the Water (I told that story to the Ruggieri girls when I was last babysitting, and I realized how incredibly creative of a movie that is), then The Happening, then Unbreakable, then the Sixth Sense. Ultimately, LITW, Signs, and Unbreakable (at least those three) seem to be about relationships as well—in different ways, but still.
Have you seen Unbreakable? If you haven’t, TRY not to find out the twist until you watch it. The “secret” is revealed in the last five minutes, and I was still in a state of shock hours later.
Have fun with VBS! I bet the kids love having you around. :)
My favorite Night film would probably be The Village also. Though, I do love Signs and Lady in the Water. Isn't Unbreakable great?! My jaw dropped at the end... It gave me goosebumps! I could hardly believe it. I think its my brother's favorite Night movie. I haven't seen the Sixth Sense... Do you own it? If so, could I borrow it sometime?
Tricia, I am so glad you posted your comments so that we could have this great discussion. You should start your own blog sometime! I would love to return the favor of commenting. I'm sure you would post on some great topics.
GTG... Sleep is calling!
Hi Laura!
I think one of the most memorable scenes in Unbreakable (for me) is the part with the boy and the gun..."Friends don't shoot each other!" It was so tense; I totally was expecting him to shoot his dad. (I like when I'm expecting something, and it doesn't happen. It makes life more interesting.)
No, I don't own The Sixth Sense. That's the one movie of his that doesn't seem to have a point--at all. It's just a scary movie with a twist. (I'd love to hear if someone thought there was a point to it!) But Toni Collette does really well in her role. There's this amazing scene where the little boy is sitting at the kitchen table, and the mom (T.C.) walks into the room, and EVERY cupboard door in the kitchen is open. Do you know how absolutely freaky that is?? There's this pause, and then she says, "Baby, were you looking for something?" The tension is HUGE, and after another pause, the boy says hesitantly, "Poptarts?" (A dead person had opened everything in search of some old possession of theirs, I believe.) Some time after seeing that movie, I walked into my bedroom (where Hannah was studying school) and all my drawers were open. It really catches you off guard, believe me. :-O
Well, thanks again for the FUN discussion. If I ever do get a blog, I'll certainly let you know! In the meantime, I'm enjoying commenting on other people's. :D
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