Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writers: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan
Synopsis: A father and his teen daughter attend a pop concert only to realize they’ve entered the center of a dark and sinister event.
M. Night Shyamalan is one of American cinema’s most divisive and fascinating directors. Bursting onto the scene with 1999’s The Sixth Sense, a mid-career downfall, and now a career resurgence, his films often explore similar themes and have a consistent pace and narrative arc. His latest film, Trap, starring Josh Hartnett as Cooper Adams, gives Shyamalan a different enough playing field that makes it distinguishable from many of his other films. The movie follows Cooper and his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) at a Taylor Swift-esque arena concert in Philadelphia. Cooper is revealed within the film’s first few minutes to be a serial killer known as The Butcher, and the concert itself was set up as a trap to catch him. He tries to simultaneously evade the heightened security and law enforcement presence and ensure his daughter has a great time at the concert.
Trap features several classical Shyamalan tropes, including a wildly original premise, somewhat robotic dialogue, attempts at interpersonal relational drama, and unwavering support of the city of Philadelphia. These seem to be aspects of his filmmaking style that don’t show any signs of changing or going away despite more than two decades of vocal criticism. It’s pretty clear at this point that Shyamalan simply doesn’t care that his dialogue and his characters are often seen as inhuman, or emotionless. In recent films, he seems to be leaning into that even more. Whether you think this is a feature or a bug of his style, Shyamalan is going to continue to lean into his instincts and make choices that he finds interesting.
Oh, and we can’t forget about the nepotism! It’s been a big year to have M. Night Shyamalan as your father, with daughter Ishana’s debut feature The Watchers releasing earlier this summer. He seemingly made Trap to boost Saleka Shyamalan’s music career, who plays the film’s pop superstar, Lady Raven. Since his debut film Praying With Anger, it’s been difficult for Shyamalan to resist casting himself in his own films, and this is now trickling down to his children. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but, notably, both Trap and The Watchers were released within a couple of months of each other, perhaps a wishful thought that his family would be the talk of the town all summer. Saleka wrote and performed all of the songs featured in the concert sequences in Trap and played a pretty prominent acting role. If you compare screen time, her fictional popstar Lady Raven is the third lead of the film.
Josh Hartnett is unequivocally incredible throughout the movie, constantly switching back and forth between a cold-blooded killer and a loving, supportive father. His over-the-top enthusiasm and line delivery when interacting with Riely and any host of strangers at the concert contrasts perfectly with his quick, unsettling facial expressions as he turns into the meticulous Butcher. He plays both parts believably, equally investing the audience in his role as a father and a killer trying to escape. At many points, we are left worried more about his relationship with Riley than his ability to escape the arena without being caught. It takes a special performance to balance both sides so well in a character that is blatantly the antagonist of the story. He brings the perfect energy to pull this story off and is incredibly fun to watch in nearly every frame.
Hartnett’s performance is the physical embodiment of what really works for Shyamalan in Trap. A murderous psychopath is unable to exhibit realistic human dialogue. Go figure. This is abundantly purposeful and signals the early chinks in Cooper’s armor. Additionally, many of Shyamalan’s films are slow pressure cookers, gradually building the tension until it finally blows up. There are more methodical family dramas that are often hidden in the thriller genre, and most people forget that these stories are at the heart of almost all his films. This latest film makes itself distinct by being a more fun, thrilling version of the same story. The family drama is there for Cooper and Riley, but the first half of Trap zips along quickly, leaving less room for you to think about many of the filmmaking decisions. This forces Shyamalan to rely more on the thrills than the fancy camera tricks he was well known for in his early career, and the cinematography from Sayombhu Mukdeeprom speaks for itself without a ton of flash. Shot on 35mm, Mukdeeprom’s framing works incredibly well with the claustrophobic nature of being contained. It also gives us many wonderfully beautiful shots of Hartnett against the colorful backdrop of a concert light show. Mukdeeprom is having a great year, with Trap as a double dose of Luca Guadagnino with spring hit Challengers and fall’s Queer on the horizon.
Ultimately, Trap’s quicker nature helps mask the typical problems people associate with Shyamalan’s films and produces the most fun and exciting release of his career. Josh Hartnett’s charming and menacing performance is backed up by serviceable turns from Ariel Donoghue and Saleka Shyamalan and blends with the craftsmanship and style remarkably well. Love him or hate him, M. Night Shyamalan is here to stay and will continue making unique thrillers like this for years to come.
