Half-Review: The Happening

I have a folder on the desktop of my computer that's called 'Movies.' In it are a bunch of movies that I've downloaded over the years that I look to see at one point. Some of these movies I have seen bits and pieces of, whether in passing on the TV or with friends. However, I chose to keep these movies in the folder because I still have a desire to see them in their entirety. I have chosen to review 'The Happening', not a full review but half of one, because I just finished watching the second half of the movie that I came across while surfing the television and it is the first movie in my folder that I have now deleted, having no desire to see it in its entirety anymore.

I have kept 'The Happening' in my movies folder because I have always been interested in seeing the movie, even though overall its reviews have been mediocre at best. I enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Signs', however it seems that his downfall from a respected director to the butt of many a movie buffs joke happened around the release of 'The Village.' 'The Happening' was one of Shyamalan's movies during his fallout period that had some promise but many doubters. I have also enjoyed Mark Wahlberg's work so far and I love Zooey Deschanel, but not because of her acting. So I have always had the small desire to see this because of these reasons.

I began watching 'The Happening' I think around the middle of the movie, where Wahlberg and Deschanel's characters are on a train and the East Coast is full aware of the threat of the poison causing people to kill themselves, however not the reason why this is happening. In addition, John Leguizamo has some supporting role in this, but his character doesn't last long enough to mention any further. I spent a lot of the time watching the movie looking for the flaws that many of the reviews I had read mentioned. The first thing I noticed was Mark Wahlberg's performance.

Now, I really do like Mark Wahlberg. I enjoyed him in 'Invincible' and 'The Italian Job,' and I think people like to

bash on him a little too prematurely. He has had some terrible performances, but I think the script he is given is more to blame than his actual performance. If you give Wahlberg a great script with a character that he is more inclined to play well he gives a good performance. With that in mind, I return to 'The Happening,' which in my opinion has a very weak script. I think Shyamalan thinks long pauses and sections of movie without dialogue make it more terrifying or something, when this type of directing can make a movie very dull when not used correctly. This is a big problem in 'The Happening;' and if Shyamalan continues to do this there is no surprise that he had failed presently as a director.

This being said, Mark Whalberg's performance is very dull, but I think part of that is because a lot of the time he is just standing there and staring into space. For example, at one point someone is talking to him and he's just looking at her. Even the person he's staring at refers to this. Really, Shyamalan? That's not how people interact. When Wahlberg is given something to say, however, his performance goes from dull to average. I'm not saying he should be given an Oscar for it, but when given a chance he is able to salvage the weak script. Zooey Deschanel did a good job as Whalberg's love interest, even though she spent the entire movie just looking terrified.

Next I tried to see the problems many critic's had with the plot line. SPOILERS AHEAD, although I'm sure you already know Shyamalan's big twist already. The trees, really? Well, I really don't have a problem with the idea of trees sending out toxic chemicals to make people commit suicide. Yes, this does present plot holes for the movie, and they do exist. In addition to this, the twist doesn't really work when you already know the reason. This kills all re-watching value, and the entire time during the movie I'm screaming at the screen IT'S THE TREES PEOPLE! It's interesting that how the plants are being threatened by humans, and because they cannot move away from the threat they do the only thing they know how to do; rapidly evolving to eliminate the threat. This idea gives the movie a little moral, pleading to humanity that they are destroying the world and it's trying to tell us. I'm sure it's being completely ignored as we continue to destroy our life source.

The ending of the movie was actually pretty moving. The interaction between Mark's and Zooey's characters was quite touching, and their under story was basically the only reason I continued to watch this movie. Shyamalan used cheap scares throughout the movie to keep me a little on edge, but overall it was very forgettable. I wouldn't say it was as terrible as some reviews led me to believe, where the main character plot line and the overall message the movie seemed to be portraying were both enjoyable. I have no desire to watch this movie in its entirety, though if I'm flipping through the channels one night and it's the only good thing on, it wouldn't be the worse thing to watch. Now to figure out how to make that into a number rating...