Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan is an Indian-born director famed for his contemporary supernatural movies which often culminate in a twist ending. Making his début with Praying With Fire while at university in New York (it screened in one theatre for one week), Shyamalan went on to direct Julia Stiles in 1995’s Wide Awake, although the film itself wasn’t actually released until 1998. True success didn’t come, however, until the release of The Sixth Sense, for which the director earnt six Academy Award nominations and four BAFTA nominations. Since then, Shyamalan has gone on to write and direct Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady In The Water, The Happening and – most recently – The Last Airbender.
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While Shyamalan’s career started out strong however (there are few who would question the majesty of The Sixth Sense), the director soon fell from grace as his proclivity for a final twist in the narrative became increasingly hackneyed. Dealing first with ghosts, and subsequently with superheroes, aliens, bogeymen and water nymphs, Shyamalan finally took a step too far with 2008’s The Happening – a film in which murderous plants imbue the planet’s populace with suicidal tendencies. In an attempt to distance himself from supernatural thrillers, the director chose for his next film to adapt a long-running Nickelodeon cartoon series, the anime-esque Avatar: The Last Airbender. Rather than prove his directorial diversity, however, The Last Airbender only fanned the flames of his vogue chastisement. Surely, there could no longer be any defence for M. Night Shyamalan?
Except, I have witnessed no such diminishing returns. In fact, I have found something to admire in each and every one of Shyamalan’s works since the Sixth Sense (I have yet to see Wide Awake and was sadly not in Woodstock, Illinois for the week of his débuts release), only struggling with The Happening when required to localise redeeming features. As the Elephant Ear Plant in the room, then, perhaps we should get the latter out of the way first. Spoilers abound.
The Happening focuses on Elliot Moore, an unassuming high school science teacher from Philidelphia who is struggling to connect with his estranged wife (Zooey Deschannel). When mysterious waves of mass suicide strike the North East of the United States – a phenomenon which is quickly (and wrongly) attributed to those pesky terrorists – Elliot and Alma decide to travel to Harrisburg by train to escape the city. Stranded in a small town en route when their train loses all radio signal, it is learnt from a local nursery owner that it is not terrorists, but plants, that are responsible for the epidemic, able as they are to defend themselves through the release of chemical toxins. Scared that the plants are targeting large groups, and having inherited a young girl from an earlier casualty, Elliot, Alma and Jess are soon left alone, having taken shelter in an isolated house, despite the protests of the eccentric owner. When she too falls victim to the trees, the trio huddle together in fear of the…nothing. Nothing happens. They survive, for no reason, and the plants go into submission until a final scene teases a resurgence in Paris.
While the synopsis may elicit more laughter than it does food for thought – and presumably the only reason Wahlberg and co. are actually spared is that they are understandably mistaken for wooden likenesses themselves – The Happening isn’t entirely devoid of artistic merit. Though you may scoff at the premise and lampoon the seriousness with which it is handled, the film nevertheless boasts one of the eeriest opening scenes to grace cinemas in the year of its release. As New York falls victim to a deadly musical statues flashmob and construction workers plummet from their scaffolding like lifeless rag dolls, the director builds up a fleeting sense of dread that was sadly mismarketed to audiences as a straight-faced horror/thriller. While you might not buy into the outlandish premise, there’s no faulting Shyamalan’s often stunning direction, even if his talents as a writer fare less well.
After The Happening it is Shyamalan’s most recent offering that comes under the most criticism. Adapted from a Saturday morning cartoon, critics were outraged to find that watching The Last Airbender felt like watching a Saturday morning cartoon. Like The Phantom Menace before it, the adult world was once again angered to find themselves not the respective director’s target audience. While I agree that the film has its flaws – hammy acting and haphazard plotting chief among them – I find it difficult to write it off completely when there’s so much to enjoy. Impressive special effects, a suitably epic feel and a scattering of beautifully orchestrated fight scenes retain some semblance of momentum as our archetypal heroes do their best to under-act one another. Had I been within the age constraints of the film’s target audience, however, I know I would have loved it. Job done.
But what of the rest of his output, is it really just to dismiss the director of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village and Lady in the Water because of two poorly received misfires? The director’s trademark unhurried approach to pacing has gifted each of his earlier releases with the timeless whimsy of a fable or fairy story that lends them a dignity and charm rarely seen during blockbuster season. This man is responsible for Bruce Willis’ only two noteworthy performances of the last 12 years; can be credited with a scattering of the best cinematic twists of all time; and discovering Abigail Breslin. Prolific isn’t even the word.
It is Signs, however, that best encapsulates the directors many talents – to me, at least. Although I loved the many surprises of The Village, and I was utterly enchanted by The Lady in the Water, it is Shyamalan’s alien invasion movie that I revisit most often. In pitting Mel Gibson’s former preacher against a group of crop circling extra terrestrials, M. Night Shyamalan has weaved a bitter-sweet crisis of faith with the thrills and spills of a popcorn-happy alien colonisation. Beautiful, tense and surprisingly touching, Signs – like the majority of Shyamalan’s other works – is a winning alchemy of different influences and unifying themes.
Now one movie into his planned The Night Chronicles trilogy – three movies which started with last year’s Devil to be produced by Shyamalan – it will be interesting to see what the director does next. Whether he returns to Unbreakable for the rumoured sequel, directs the next instalment in his Airbender trilogy or writes and directs something entirely new, you can bet that I’ll be there, happy to listen to anythig this tremendous director has left to say.
*****
It is time to hand the floor over to you. What is your opinion of M. Night Shyamalan? Movie mastermind or master of mediocrity? With a director who polarises opinion as completely as Shyamalan, this is undoubtedly a debate which could rage on for a long time to come.
Good work Steven. Always good to see us taking on a difficult task! I haven’t seen Lady in the Water, The Happening or Airbender – bad reviews swayed me. Like you, really enjoyed Signs. I think the argument that water allergic aliens wouldn’t invade a 2/3 water planet was unfairly used to dismiss the whole film, whereas it realy is just a minor quibble amidst what is otherwise a great piece of film-making. I think Unbreakable remains his best work, but that’s just the superhero fan in me.
I think you might get a bit more of a backlash on this one than I’ve had on mine, but I’m going to defend Matthew McConaughey next, so spare me a thought once that goes live.
Good work Steven. Always good to see us taking on a difficult task! I haven’t seen Lady in the Water, The Happening or Airbender – bad reviews swayed me. Like you, really enjoyed Signs. I think the argument that water allergic aliens wouldn’t invade a 2/3 water planet was unfairly used to dismiss the whole film, whereas it realy is just a minor quibble amidst what is otherwise a great piece of film-making. I think Unbreakable remains his best work, but that’s just the superhero fan in me.
I think you might get a bit more of a backlash on this one than I’ve had on mine, but I’m going to defend Matthew McConaughey next, so spare me a thought once that goes live.
Just an FYI, his next film is now untitled, but was going to be called 1000 Years A.E., and is set to star Will Smith and his son Jaden in the lead roles. It is a science fiction piece.
Also, the next film in the Night Chronicles was going to be called Twelve Strangers, but now it has the title Reincarnate. The third film in the Night Chronicles, if I am not mistaken, will be based around the character that was to be the villain of Unbreakable 2, now in a stand-alone story.
I know this stuff because I am the webmaster of a website called http://www.MNightFans.com
Ridiculous article, your an idiot. I wouldn’t be able to find anyone who could agree with this nonsense
Unfortunately even the young fans of Avatar The Last Airbender were extremely dissapointed in the film.
Job not well done there.
Now this is what I am talking about. I am totally with you on this article. M. Night truly is a master of what he does and how he does it. He is different, no doubt, and ever since “The Sixth Sense”, I really enjoy the way he tells a story. I thought he did a phenomenal job on “Lady In The Water”, and “The Happening” was immersing. He is a great director in my opinion and I hope he continues to make movies. Great job M. Night.
Wow. I agree with him. Guess your work is done.
you’re an idiot*
If you’re going to insult someone, do it in a grammatically correct way, please.
No. Really, no. You cannot defend M. Night Shyamalan to me. Oh, like a lot of people I quite enjoyed “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable”, but after that it really does go downhill. Oh, “Signs” wasn’t too bad overall despite being based on something as fake as crop circles and pushing the faith lost/restored idea way to hard , but the absolutely ridiculous “aliens are vulnerable to water” ending destroys (at least for me) almost everything that came before. Then there is “The Village” – not especially enteraining, one-dimensional characters, and a “twist” that can become obvious halfway through the movie if you are really paying attention. Now, I must confess that I have not seen “Lady in the Water” (despite interesting looking previews) because of the poor reviews. Next, we have “The Happening”, which has the good points you mentioned, but fails overall, especially the “wooden” (as you said) characters which appear to have become typical of Shyamalan, unless the performances in “Lady in the Water” could convince me otherwise. Finally, and worst of all, “The Last Airbender” which as a movie is bad, and as an adaptation of the series is an abomination. These reviews spell out exactly what is wrong with it:
http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/892319.html
http://calitreview.com/10032
So, no. Perhaps he will redeem himself with whatever he directs next, but at the moment there can be no defense that will withstand scrutiny.
What can I say? Am I that forgiving? I love almost everything Night has done. Unbreakable being my favorite. I loved Signs too. The Village won me over–who makes movies like this? No one! Night is truly creative and bold for coming up with so many intangible ideas and for treating them with such artistic vision. I felt that Lady in the Water had its genuine flaws, but I loved it nevertheless. Roger Ebert seemed to be the only critic who liked The Happening…and I’m on the same page. That movie freaked me out. I completely understood what Night was trying to convey. The Happening wasn’t a great movie…but it was better than that other adventure movie that came out that summer (ahem, Crystal Skull). I’m looking forward to the next Night Chronicles film and will continue to dream about Unbreakable 2 and 3.
Dude, I love M. Night and I appreciate all his films. This “defence” you’ve written really resonates with me. Thank you. I’ve really tried to understand why his films have been so roundly criticized, but I don’t get it. Wooden acting? If that’s all it takes to dismiss a movie, I’d say most of what comes out on the big screen should be equally lambasted. I’ve heard it’s because he insists on filming in Pennsylvania.
His patience, his tempo, his all-around storytelling has led to some of my favorite movies of all time. He genuinely loves his characters and that shines through in his films. He and Paul Thomas Anderson are two of my favorite directors. I hope his detractors don’t win and he continues to make films for years to come. And, if I can add one last thing, I think it’s sad when people are swayed by critics. Be your own critic. Have your own opinion. Time will be kind to M. Night Shyamalan.
I agree. I guess I am glad to hear that others find his films enjoyable. Like someone else said, I like the tempo, the storyline… I have become bored with the cookie cutter movies coming out these days, or it could just be that I am picky in what I like, for example my favorites having been 2001, Blade Runner, The Matrix, etc. I actually saw The Last Airbender about three times when it showed, I enjoyed it so much.
Really? Sometimes it astonishes me just how much poeple’s tastes in movies can vary. I am with you on “Blade Runner” and “The Matrix”, but tou would have to pay me quite a relatively substantial amount of money to watch “The Last Airbender” two more times. I wouldn’t have sat through it ONCE if I had needed to pay more than two dollars for the privilege.
“The Last Airbender” was the worst movie I have seen in the last 5 years, and I just recently watched “The Room”. Also, I was so stoned during that movie the special effects alone should have satiated my cinematic appetite (munchies). WRONG! The mere fact that you would defend that movie tells me your an M. Night fanboy, and I don’t trust fanboys. Lets be real for a moment and call it what it is…. SHIT!
Evidently you are unfamiliar with The Last Airbender’s source material. It is much more than a ‘Saturday morning cartoon’ in the vein of Spongebob or Nickelodeon’s other fare. It is a far more mature, well-plotted and resonant work that pays homage to many elements of Asian culture and history. Shyamalan’s adaptation destroyed the beauty and the momentum of the show, particularly in regard to the characters and their relationships, and the action scenes. This, more than problems with the demographic, was what reviewers (many of whom knew and respected the show) rightly identified as problematic. Go watch a few episodes of the show and then tell me that the fight scenes in the film kept any semblance of the excitement or momentum they should have, or that the characters are nearly as vibrant and evocative as they are in this ‘Saturday morning cartoon.’ Pah. After that trainwreck Shyamalan has lost all of my respect.
Evidently you are unfamiliar with The Last Airbender’s source material. It is much more than a ‘Saturday morning cartoon’ in the vein of Spongebob or Nickelodeon’s other fare. It is a far more mature, well-plotted and resonant work that pays homage to many elements of Asian culture and history. Shyamalan’s adaptation destroyed the beauty and the momentum of the show, particularly in regard to the characters and their relationships, and the action scenes. This, more than problems with the demographic, was what reviewers (many of whom knew and respected the show) rightly identified as problematic. Go watch a few episodes of the show and then tell me that the fight scenes in the film kept any semblance of the excitement or momentum they should have, or that the characters are nearly as vibrant and evocative as they are in this ‘Saturday morning cartoon.’ Pah. After that trainwreck Shyamalan has lost all of my respect.
The Last Airbender is a true masterpiece before the studio made M. Night to cut some footage before the 3D covertion.
You call it “SHIT” because that is what you see on the screen, but take a closer look and you’ll notice that M. Night did try to made the movie even witht the changes as the series. Sadly he has been scapegoated by all the hate and bad word of mouth by the fans. This is sooo sad and feel sorry for you.
The Last Airbender is a true masterpiece before the studio made M. Night to cut some footage before the 3D covertion.
You call it “SHIT” because that is what you see on the screen, but take a closer look and you’ll notice that M. Night did try to made the movie even witht the changes as the series. Sadly he has been scapegoated by all the hate and bad word of mouth by the fans. This is sooo sad and feel sorry for you.