The Happening (2008)

Réalisateur:

M. Night Shyamalan

Scénariste (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Date de sortie:

13 juin 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Horreur | Mystère | Science-Fiction | Thriller

Accroche:

We've Sensed It. We've Seen The Signs. Now... It's Happening.

Intrigue:

A strange, horrible and unprecedented crisis begins in Central Park. A high school science teacher, his wife and a young girl do what they can to survive it.

Plot Keywords:

Park | Teacher | Crisis | Young Girl | Disappearance

Récompenses:

1 win & 4 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

The End of an Era (but not a career)

Ensemble

Mark Wahlberg	...	Elliot Moore
Zooey Deschanel	...	Alma Moore
John Leguizamo	...	Julian
Ashlyn Sanchez	...	Jess
Betty Buckley	...	Mrs. Jones
Spencer Breslin	...	Josh
Robert Bailey Jr.	...	Jared
Frank Collison	...	Nursery Owner
Jeremy Strong	...	Pvt. Auster - MP
Alan Ruck	...	Principal
Victoria Clark	...	Nursery Owner's Wife
M. Night Shyamalan	...	Joey (voice)
Alison Folland	...	Claire - Woman Reading on Bench with Hair Pin
Kristen Connolly	...	Woman Reading on Bench
Cornell Womack	...	Construction Foreman

Autre(s) titre(s):

Green Planet (USA) (working title)
The Green Effect (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent and disturbing images.

Durée:

91 min

Pays:

USA | India

Langue:

Anglais | Français

Couleur:

Couleur

Rapport de forme:

1,85 : 1

Son:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Classification:

South Korea:18 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Norway:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R13 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Brazil:16 | Italy:VM14 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:13 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #44343) | Taiwan:R-12 | Japan:PG-12 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:16 (cut) (theatrical version) | Sweden:15 | Austria:14 | Denmark:15 | South Africa:16LV | Canada:14A | India:A (cinema release) | New Zealand:R16 (DVD re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Spain:15 (DVD rating) | Iceland:16

Lieux de tournage:

100 W 18th St, New York City, New York, USA

Société:

Blinding Edge Pictures

Anecdotes:

M. Night Shyamalan's first film to have an R rating.

Goofs:

Erreurs factuelles: When Julian is in the Jeep and he gives the woman the mathematical word problem, about the doubling penny, he says that she would have over 10 million dollars at the end of the month. While technically true, she would actually have closer to 5.3 billion dollars, far more that the stated answer.

Guillemet:

[first lines]
Woman Reading on Bench with Hair Pin: I forgot where I am.
Woman Reading on Bench: You're at the place where the killers meet to decide what to do with the crippled girl.

Connexions De Film:

Références Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) (VG)

Bande son:

Black Water

The End of an Era (but not a career)

Let me preface these comments by saying that I am a major Night fan. I look forward to news of his next project and love the stories of his supposed total control over his movies and carte blanche from the studios. If those stories are true, I have a feeling that era will be ending for Night with the release of The Happening. I ignored all the pre-release press I could before going to see this movie. I read none of the reviews, but one word I did catch was "uninspired." Unfortunately, that one word describes this movie perfectly. In the first ten minutes of the movie, I thought it was due to the acting and that maybe Mark Wahlberg was miscast. However, after another ten minutes I realized it wasn't the actors; it was the extremely lame script. Without giving away any details, this is a disaster film where the disaster "happening" starts with the first scene of the movie. Unfortunately, no suspense builds and there is absolutely no sense of dread or panic on screen and so none translates to the audience. Surprising, since the 21st century has provided us with too many occasions to study how we react in times of disaster, whether by nature or terrorism. It's as if Night ignored all this when writing the story. The characters sleepwalk through the scenes (and, no, it's not a symptom of "the happening") with no believable sense of the horrible events taking place. Granted, we don't need to see people running around in circles screaming and crying, but people do not stand in small groups after a disaster calmly taking turns talking one at a time. Without sharing in any of the horror that the characters are suppose to be experiencing, the film is a total bore for the audience and the source of "the happening" is laughable when revealed. I found myself repeatedly checking my watch, saying, "I can't believe how bad this is" – not something I'd expect to do in a Night movie. Looking around the theater, I could tell others were sharing the same feelings. Most were scrolling through emails or texting on their phones.

During the movie, since I wasn't paying much attention to the screen, I started thinking that there might be a good reason why most filmmakers do not have total control over their films. When they do, they can reach a point that it seems Night may have reached, where they say, "I'm going to make people scared when the wind blows" and actually believe themselves. Maybe other producers or execs can step in at that point and bring the filmmaker back to reality. I'm not giving up on Night, but I'll feel better if his next film is not "Written, Produced and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan."