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Can M. Night Shyamalan be saved?
Not so long ago, Newsweek magazine called M. Night Shyamalan “the next Spielberg.” Now some people are wondering if he’s the next Michael Cimino.
Cimino, like Shyamalan, found great success at first, winning an Oscar for The Deer Hunter. Then his ego took hold and made Heaven’s Gate, ruining his career, to say nothing of how it sank United Artists.
Shayamalan’s career hasn’t achieved failure of epic proportions yet, but it is fair to say that the deservedly reviled Lady in the Water was his Heaven’s Gate - the film that severely wounded his reputation as a filmmaker.
Now, he has a new movie, The Happening, coming out Friday, about a mysterious ailment causing people to kill themselves. At first, it seemed like he was retrenching and returning to the sort of suspense thrillers that made his name. But early reviews say the movie is none too thrilling.
Variety writes: “…. the writer-director has scaled back most of his characteristic touches — the contorted horror/fantasy mythology, the “gotcha” twist ending, even his trademark cameo — instead serving up a patchy, uninspired eco-thriller … After an initial bloom of interest, the Fox release will likely wilt quickly in the summer heat.”
The Hollywood Reporter opines, “The movie seems more like a ’50s science fiction film of extreme paranoia or an episode of “The Twilight Zone” that even at a swiftly paced 90 minutes feels padded.”
Online buzz, as it so often is, is particularly nasty. A reviewer on a site called Collider.com wrote: “The Happening is a terrible, terrible movie. I mean, it’s bad on an epic scale. It’s so bad that I can’t possibly tell you how bad it is without understating the point or making it sound like I’m picking on the film. But let me stress: this is not pent-up Shyamalan aggression or a desire to see him fail. This is bad in a jaw-dropping ‘they can’t really be serious, can they?’ kind of way.”
Um …ouch.
But hold the phone here.
Yes, Lady in the Water was terrible. And yes, Shyamalan tends to get lost in his own ego. However, the director does NOT deserve the scorn that some have dumped upon him.
The Sixth Sense? Still works brilliantly. Unbreakable? Severely underrated. Signs? Sure, it has gigantic plot holes, but show me someone who thinks the suspense sequences don’t work, and I’ll show you someone who doesn’t have a pulse. The Village? Doesn’t hold up to repeat viewings, but it still has some strong scenes, and a great performance by Bryce Dallas Howard.
On one of Entertainment Weekly’s blogs, a commenter writes, “M. Night is way up there with Uwe Boll as the worst directors of all time.” Spare me. That’s even more ludicrous than some of the things that come out of Boll’s mouth. Say what you will about Shaymalan’s ego, the man knows what to do with a camera, and anyone who says otherwise isn’t paying attention.
I can’t say whether The Happening deserves the bad buzz or not. Fox has chosen not to screen it in this market, which I think is a mistake. But I also think it’s a mistake for the film’s R-rating to be the center of interest. If all you can talk about is how your film has more blood than usual, that tells me something is missing. (In fairness, the film does have a defender in film blogger Jeffrey Wells, who calls it “unquestionably his third-best film.”)
Even if The Happening tanks, Shyamalan isn’t done. He’s already at work on Airbender, an adaptation of a Nickelodeon property, and I think it’s a good idea for him to tackle something that isn’t entirely his own creation. He’s a stronger director than he is a writer, and this project might help him hone his skills.
Where do you stand on M. Night? Will you see The Happening?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Filmmakers
Comments
By SRCputt
June 12, 2008 4:18 AM | Link to this
Night has two problems. His ego got too large after his early success. After Lady in the Water bombing and the likely trouncing The Happening will get from The (not so) Incredible Hulk, ego should no longer be a problem. Second, his scripts need some work. He has some good ideas, but a pairing with a good cowriter should help him sand out the rough spots. He’s a good director. He’ll find his footing again. I don’t understand why he’s inspired so much hatred (envy, maybe?), but he I believe he still has plenty of success in his future.By SRCputt
June 12, 2008 4:04 AM | Link to this
Susan, I wish you were right, but there was a book (The Man Who Heard Voices) written about the making of Lady in the Water which makes it clear Night made the movie he wanted. In fact, he left Disney over the project, not because of notes, but because Night felt they (most notably Nina Jacobson) didn’t have enough faith in the project. Sadly, Night proved Disney right.By Alice
June 11, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this
I understand why a lot of people - and critics - hated Lady in the Water, but I really liked it. In an era of over-budgeted action flicks, sequels and redone (ie Bewitched etc…) movies, I thought the movie was refreshingly creative. It was one of the few movies with a lot of holes in the storyline that left me not caring because the story was good even with the holes and the actors’ performances were sooo good. Paul Giamatti is great, as is Bryce Dallas Howard. After the movie, I felt like a kid that had just listened to one of my grandmother’s wildly spun tales. There are times (not many) when you need to stop questioning everything and just enjoy the tale and I think this movie was one of them. I appreciate M Night for being one mainstream writer/director that thinks outside the box and somehow not getting pushed into the valuable-but-disappearing art houses that no one cares enough to invest in anymore. I thought the Sixth Sense was good, but I think he didn’t film it intending for it to be a success. When it did become a blockbuster, I think it went to his head a bit and he thought he had some kind of formula down and he created The village. When that tanked, I think he realized that he was better off doing what he wanted to do instead of following some formula and if it became a success, then great. But if it didn’t, at least he created something that was his - like Lady in the Water.By Susan
June 11, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this
I’m wondering if his scripts are being bogged down in studio committee. The higher the budgets the more film execs give “notes.” What does Mr. Shyamalan say, I wonder? Do you know?By Allie D.
June 11, 2008 12:24 PM | Link to this
I agree with you completely, Eric. Comparing M. Night to Uwe Boll is effing ridiculous. Night’s problem isn’t in his technical craft. I still think in that he is a borderline genius. It’s the writing. He really should stop writing his own scripts. Also, I’d be interested to know whether or not he has final cut on his movies… I’m disappointed in this early buzz. I was really looking forward to this movie, so now my expectations have been lowered a good deal, but maybe that was a good thing. I didn’t much care for The Village and loathed Lady in the Water, but really enjoyed Signs, Unbreakable, and of course Sixth Sense. I think Shaymalan is incredibly talented. If this Airbender adaptation is based on Nickelodeon’s Avatar series, I’m thrilled. My kids love that show, and I admit I enjoy it as well.