The Happening

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The Sixth Sense was eight years ago now - crazy as it may seem. It signalled the arrival of a genuine auteur in M. Night Shyamalan, who burst onto the Hollywood A-List with a thriller that excelled in everything it set out to do. The underrated Unbreakable followed for the writerdirector, then the box office success of Signs; but with The Village, the talented helmer simply got lost too far up his own arse, and hasn't been able to find a way out since. Here Mark Wahlberg plays an unassuming, gratingly affable high school science teacher who is caught up in a 'chemical epidemic' that is seeing folk all over the east coast of America stop, mumble something, then kill themselves in an over-elaborate manner. Theories are thrown around by miscellaneous absconders looking to flee the 'infected' zone, as Wahlberg, his kooky missus and the obligatory child all struggle to stay safe in a situation they can't understand. There was tension lurking somewhere in this film - amidst the all the shots of trees, and wind blowing against the grass - but it just never materialises. What we're subjected to instead is innumerable moments of unintentional hilarity, as our group spends most of the film pegging it from, eh, nothing. Wahlberg was blatantly the wrong actor for this role, too - his bulky frame contradicting his character's every trait - while the dialogue just doesn't feel right coming from his mouth. It's not his fault, though, and you can see why he took the role - it was a chance for him to play a 'normal guy' for a change. The big question here is how the target audience will respond to Shyamalan after his third clunker in a row, as this is a mess. His script needed massive work, his direction is inexplicably stilted and the pacing lacking in immediacy. He needs to take a time-out, and maybe direct someone else's script, or write for another director. At least there's no ego-massaging cameo this time…