Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine’s review published on Letterboxd:
Action!: The Campy, The Violent and The Plot Twist — Its a Plot Twist! The Shyamalan Chronicles
Night Shyamalan has built a reputation for always trying to subvert our expectations through the use of “plot twists.” Such is the case that’s become a meme and a fantastic Robot Chicken joke. Only The Last Airbender and After Earth have probably been the only ones I can think of that don’t attempt to do this. Probably because one was an adaptation and the other was a job for hire. But I’ve enjoyed how this new Shyamalan, who was raised from the ashes as a phoenix, has been subverting audiences by subverting our expectations we have of him. With The Visit being probably the only exception, everything from Split to Old has been less “plot twists” and more like “reveals”. See a twist is supposed to reframe a whole movie. Knowing (and I guess SPOILERS for those who haven’t seen Split, the sequel and Old) that Split is set in the Unbreakable universe doesn’t reinterpret the whole story but rather serves as an “explanation,” for lack of a better world. Knowing there was a secret society in Glass doesn’t change significantly or in any way in the film; it just, I guess, says that Paulson’s character always knew they were specials and was trying to mess with them or something. Learning that the stunning beach (which, btw, you can visit here in the Dominican Republic, where the film was shot) in Old was some weird outdoor lab for research by some crazy scientists doesn’t alter the story as much as a (dumb ass) explanation on WTF was happening all along. Knock on the Cabin having really no twist WAS THE TWIST. Some may call it an “Anti-twist”. And all of this leads me to not this film in particular but the year as a whole. This film has no real twists nor was it intended to have any. The real pull off the rug on us, the Spanish Inquisition was not in this movie but in the year itself, as for whatever reason he chose to make this, for better or for worse, the year he would shove on us, build a bridge for his daughters. It’s After Earth all over again, except that M. Night is Will Smith and her daughters are Jaden and Willow! *Mind Blown*
Ok, but seriously, back to what you guys came here for. My thoughts on this film. And I’d cut to the chase; it was pretty good. I was actually not bothered by the writing or dialogues (you’re talking to the guy who has The Happening on his top 5 Shyamalan films) but by the camerawork. For whatever reason, a lot of the live concert is framed where, on the right side of the screen, there’s a lot of empty space and Saleka is placed very close to the left side, like one more move in that direction and she’s gone from the shot. It was weird, especially because you see in other scenes that there was nothing to hide. A lot of close ups with people talking straight to the camera legit had me wondering if my man has been watching a lot of Ozu lately. Loved the diopter shot we got—at least the one where everything behind wasn’t blurred—though the little we got from Josh’s face and his acting were great. The score by Herdis was solid, though I prefer her work on Knock…. I wish Shyamalan and Newton Howard got together, though. They both gifted us with some great scores, probably a few of the best in James’ discography. Saleka music was alright. The “Dreamer” song and the one she plays on the piano, especially, were great.
And I guess that's a good segue into the acting. And starting with the elephant in the room, I mean, Saleka wasn’t as atrocious as I was expecting based on the reviews. She definitely has more hopes as a singer than an actress and having her featured prominently at the pivotal moments of the film in the third act was a choice, a bad choice. In a way, I guess it was a way to archive what was archived but I don’t know. If they were going in that direction, maybe they should have gone with someone who knew how to sing and also act. Or gone in another direction. Donoghue was pretty good, considering the material she was given. Mills was underutilized, they could have done so much more with her. Jonathan Langdon’s Jamie is my spirit animal, that mid credit scene killed me (no pun intended). Uncle M. Night was solid, probably a better actor than her daughter, then again, he’s a season cameo acteur. But yeah, in the end, this was what Hartnett showed, and he was incredible. Especially the awkwardness, the ticks, and the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which he shifts personalities. The film does a really great job playing on his natural charm and balancing it with the more Mr. Brooks sinister side of him. Especially in his facial expressions and the way he contorts them, that final shot was so terrifying and makes me wonder where we will go from here. Not gonna lie, I was expecting Paulson, Anya or someone else to pop up by the end credits. But yeah, he was awesome. Oh, and that Kid Cudi cameo was also pretty funny.
All in all, Shyamalan’s going in a more Hitchcockean direction, with less of a cat and mouse game and more like a right criminal on the run, with a lot of his own “unique” brand of awkwardness sprinkled throughout, a slow and uneven third act and a lot of nepotism shovel in for good measure. Look, I get you want to promote your daughter and all, but hiring people to yell and go crazy for her music or waiting for her to yell as she walks out of the bus is a little too much, amigo. You don’t have to be such a cool dad. At least he’s trying to compensate for abandoning her when she was 7. Hmmm…
Action!: The Campy, The Violent and The Plot Twist — Its a Plot Twist! The Shyamalan Chronicles
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