After we saw M. Night Shyamalan's new film The Happening on Friday night...well, I had about a dozen different things I wanted to say about it. His films make me think more than most others, but I will say this: I don't know if you will really, really like this film unless you are an M. Night fan. Case and I have been fans from the beginning, and we each have our favorite movies for our own reasons. We tend to get pretty pumped about a new M. Night film coming out. This one...was just different, and after reading his synopsis on the film at his website, things are at least a little more clear.
But for some reason, I get so bugged when people see one of his films and completely dismiss it before they think. There always seem to be crowds of high-schoolers walking around afterward saying, "Well, I just don't get it. There was no point." Why do I care? I don't know, but I do, and it bugs me that people want to put his films into some box. Casey has said it more than once, but he is most likely a filmmaker like Alfred Hitchcock, whose films won't be more fully appreciated until about fifty years from now.
I am not one to give spoilers at all, but if you are extra-cautious in that way then I guess don't read any further. Some themes I saw in the movie, whether he intended them or not: fear versus love (that was a big one in my mind), anti-war...maybe some environmental issues? And I can deal with some things in movies, but wow, there was some stuff where I had to turn away or hide my eyes a bit. And there was also a scene that I knew would keep me up that night. And it did. Lots of adrenaline pumping through my heart...
This won't be my 'new favorite' of his films. I think The Village still wins out, although Lady in the Water was excellent and gets better every time I see it. Casey wasn't all that happy that the score (by James Newton Howard) wasn't up to par like usual, but he is now determined that he needs to see it again in the theater. That's a big deal, because we don't normally see many movies out...and we're going to see one of them twice? Okay by me!
If anyone else has seen it, feel free to share your thoughts! And no, it won't bug me if all you have to say is, "I just don't get it." I've already heard it enough anyway, so what's one more?
But for some reason, I get so bugged when people see one of his films and completely dismiss it before they think. There always seem to be crowds of high-schoolers walking around afterward saying, "Well, I just don't get it. There was no point." Why do I care? I don't know, but I do, and it bugs me that people want to put his films into some box. Casey has said it more than once, but he is most likely a filmmaker like Alfred Hitchcock, whose films won't be more fully appreciated until about fifty years from now.
I am not one to give spoilers at all, but if you are extra-cautious in that way then I guess don't read any further. Some themes I saw in the movie, whether he intended them or not: fear versus love (that was a big one in my mind), anti-war...maybe some environmental issues? And I can deal with some things in movies, but wow, there was some stuff where I had to turn away or hide my eyes a bit. And there was also a scene that I knew would keep me up that night. And it did. Lots of adrenaline pumping through my heart...
This won't be my 'new favorite' of his films. I think The Village still wins out, although Lady in the Water was excellent and gets better every time I see it. Casey wasn't all that happy that the score (by James Newton Howard) wasn't up to par like usual, but he is now determined that he needs to see it again in the theater. That's a big deal, because we don't normally see many movies out...and we're going to see one of them twice? Okay by me!
If anyone else has seen it, feel free to share your thoughts! And no, it won't bug me if all you have to say is, "I just don't get it." I've already heard it enough anyway, so what's one more?
2 comments:
I haven't seen it, but now I really want to.
My absolute fave so far, is definitely The Village. Lady in the Water was interesting, but kinda plain weird.
Tell me what you think after you see it!! =)
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