‘There’s a way to turn yourself good…’
If you were to condense everything about M. Night Shyamalan into one film, that film would be Trap. It’s all here. Great concept. Great visuals. Shoddy dialogue. Baffling decisions. This is Shyamalan in Excelsis. 100% pure Shyamalan. What a time to be alive…
Everyone knows the setup by now. Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is a loving father to his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue). So much so that he agrees to take her to a matinee gig of pop superstar Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). It turns out the whole show is a trap to ensnare Cooper as he is a psychotic serial killer when he’s not being a doting family man. Leading the FBI operation (for some reason) is an elderly FBI profiler who is also British. It’s one of many extremely odd choices that M. Night indulges in throughout the film.
I should begin by acknowledging that Saleka Night Shyamalan is M. Night’s daughter (if that were not obvious to begin with). Be assured, however, that this is no Sofia Coppola situation. Saleka can act and sing, and she is required to do both here, particularly in the film’s twisty third act. This is very much Hartnett’s jam, however. It’s a phenomenal performance. Layered. Chilling. Ambiguous. It is a testament to his ability as an actor that he convinces both as a loving father and as a violent murderer. This is particularly crucial during the third act when things really get out of control. Hartnett grounds everything and ensures that it doesn’t get too silly (although it is still quite silly).
Trap is a wildly entertaining film that is also utterly implausible. It’s the kind of film that only M. Night Shyamalan could have created. No matter what you think of him, there is no doubt that he is an auteur. You know his films when you see them. His latest venture is a whole load of wonderful nonsense. Here’s to the next one.
