Is M Night Shyamalan suffering from Orson Welles/Steven Seagal syndrome? IE he's made all his best work at the beginning of his career? Seriously, I was one of the few that actually liked his last film "The Lady in The water", but even I could see why the audience assumed that he had become a victim of his own style and technique. I mean casting himself as an author whose work will reshape society is a little egotistical. Now we are confronted with "The Happening" a nebulously titled film that has aroused a lot of criticism from the viewing public due to it's tone and message.

Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel star as a couple caught up in the mass panic when a suicide-inducing toxin wreaks havoc on the East Coast of the US. They flee New York with work colleague John Leguizamo and his young daughter only to find that the disaster is spreading and and becoming more accurate in targeting humans. Again we have a film that raises the theme of how humans deal with extreme situations and the threat of their own mortality. Also there are some interesting themes about the environment and nature. Especially the topical matter of the ongoing disappearance of the honey bee.

Sadly, while the initial premise is engaging, its execution adds further weight to the argument that Shyamalan should defer to more accomplished screenwriters capable of developing his ideas. Despite a excellent cast, the dialogue is crass, leaving the actors with little to do except emote sincerely. There is also an air of sanctimony about the screen play that rather spoils the intriguing premise. The director also employs a rather crude visual device to imply impending danger from the environment, that when you analyse, is completely implausible, within the confines of a story that has already required you to make a substantial suspension of disbelief.

Yet, despite these criticisms, there are some rather stand out sequences that show a great deal of creative flare. There's a rather shocking scene when construction workers start to hurl themselves off the roof of the building they're working on. A tracking shot following a Police officers gun as it is used in subsequent suicides, is also impressively realised. Once again, composer James Newton Howard has embellished Shyamalan's work exceptionally. The two seem to have a creative relationship on a par with Hitchcock and Herrmann.

In the US, the distributors seem to have made much of the fact that this is the directors first "R" rated movie. Perhaps they saw this as it's only virtue. It should be noted that the film seems to have been pre-cut by the distributors for the European market. It is hard to discern the motive for this. In the UK it is a known fact that the BBFC is cautious about material depicting suicide. However, none of the attempts shown in the "The Happening" seem easily imitable. Some of the scenes that are toned down for the international market are as follows:

* The stainless steel hair pin piercing the throat during the suicide at the beginning.
* A man having his arm bitten off by lions.
* A man dying under a lawnmower.

This may result in a stronger "uncut" R2 release at a future date, enabling 20th Century Fox to maximise their profits on a title they seem a little unsure about.

"The Happening" is a sad case of missed potential. The characters are weak and not especially likeable. A rift in the main protagonists relationship turns out to be only minor. It would have been far more challenging if one was actually an adulterer, thus making their redemption harder to achieve. A greater sense of panic is also needed along with clearer examples of social disorder and breakdown, that such an event may bring. Let us hope that Mr. Shyamalan's next project improves upon this work.

XoD.