Bad Night

Posted by Wasteland Fan

In the comments to a prior post, Fullmoon challenged me on my objections to M. Night Shyamalan's films. And, having gotten no response for several days, she's getting understandably impatient.

I'm really pressed for time this week, but I'll try to do a quick, non-exhaustive list of several things that bug me about Shyamalan and his work. But, in fairness, I'll start with some positives:

1. I thought The Sixth Sense was quite good. I've got no real complaint about it. It was engaging, well acted, solidly constructed, and beautifully rendered in many ways. And the big shock at the end holds up pretty well to criticism. It's no Citizen Kane [or insert your favorite high-brow classic here], but it's a fine film.
2. Until the stupid ending, I thought Unbreakable might even be a better film than The Sixth Sense. The way Shyamalan was able to create a foreboding mood, both in terms of pacing and visuals, was impressive.
3. Though I'm no expert on film criticism and have less than passing familiarity with the technical aspects of filmmaking, my sense is that Shyamalan is a talented director.

The bad and the ugly:

1. He can't act. Yet, he features himself more and more prominently in every film. That and other details of his behind-the-scenes persona smack of a hubris that I don't like.
2. He is a one-trick pony. Enough with the "it was there all along but I'll shock you at the end with this fascinating twist" movies. With each film it becomes less interesting and more strained.
3. He is unoriginal. When Wasteland Spouse and I walked out of The Village, she said, "Could he have ripped off Running Out of Time any more?" WS has taught the Haddix book to several classes of elementary schoolers, so she's quite familiar with the book. This was no idle that-kind-of-reminded-me-of musing. And, sure enough, others agreed and not long thereafter Margaret Peterson Haddix's publisher was at least investigating whether a copyright violation occurred. (I couldn't find anything that suggested there was ever legal action taken, but you don't have to violate the federal code to be guilty of being unoriginal.) Other Shyamalan movies have been subjected to claims of ripoff as well. While he may be completely in the clear legally on any and all of these claims, it's a disturbing pattern.
4. Signs and The Village were mostly just ponderous and boring. The couch potato critic in me can't get any more bottom line than that.
5. The critics agree that his films just keep on getting worse.