Get “Trapped”
with M. Night Shyamalan’s latest flick
Let me just start by saying I’m a sucker for a Shyamalan film. I know that many people feel that his work since The Sixth Sense isn’t up to par, and I’m here to tell you just how wrong you are. Shyamalan is an excellent storyteller and director, the problem is that we know his style, and when we know it we can predict it. This is tough when his style is that there will be some giant twist in the last act of his films. It means most of the time watchers are analyzing as they go, and desperately trying to figure out the twist without just enjoying the flow of the film. I love to figure out the twist in a movie, figuring out the killer(s) in a thriller, solving the who or why in a murder mystery, all of it is an engaging addition to watching a film. It also causes me to stop fully paying attention to performances, I get a bit too distracted trying to “win”.
This film is about a serial killer named The Butcher, and a trap being set by the feds to catch him while he attends a concert. Trap is a psychological thriller, and Shyamalan did his audience a favor by not hiding a thing. We know who the big bad is from the trailers, and in the film itself, it is shown quite early on. This film isn’t about finding the twist or solving a mystery, it’s about whether or not the bad guy can get away.
Shyamalan is a storyteller, and a story doesn’t have to be crazy, unexpected, or ground-breaking to be good. How many times has Cinderella been made? Go into this movie with just one thought, does the bad guy win, and do I kind of like him?
Josh Hartnett plays our lead and murderer Cooper, who is taking his daughter Riley, played by Ariel Donohue, to a much-anticipated concert. This concert made me feel like what the madness must have been like for tweens and teens to go to Taylor Swift or One Direction. I was never and continue not to be someone who gets so intense and fanatical about celebrities. Watching this made me feel like I kind of missed out, and made me giggle a bit to recognize the completely realistic portrayal of tween excitement and meltdowns in the face of their idols. The concert is of fictional artist Lady Raven, played by M. Night Shyamalan’s real-life daughter Saleka Shyamalan. Saleka reminds me of a young Mya and gives a lot of heart in her performance. I don’t care if this whole film was a shameless attempt at getting M. Night’s daughter in the spotlight, she did a great job.
Cooper is the perfect dad, but he’s so perfect and sweet that it feels uncomfortable. I don’t know if that was my daddy issues, or excellent acting on Hartnett’s part, but even before he started acting erratically he made me uneasy. Once things start heating up Hartnett’s performance really glows. He does so much acting through facial expressions and twitches that I felt a bit unnerved in my theatre seat. The movie delivered exactly what I expected and wanted from the film, I was entertained, I had fun, and I was “on the edge of my seat” for the latter half of the movie.
Is this my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film? No, that’s Lady in the Water, but I thought it was worthwhile. It was perfect for a PG-13 thriller and felt exactly like an M. Night Shyamalan story, where it is dark and twisted without being overly so. I enjoyed the flick, but I don’t think I would deem it a must-see in theatres.
What is the next theatrical release you can’t wait for? Any movie you want me to review or see? Let me know!
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