Courtesy Warner Bros. Picture
Old director M Night Shyamalan leans fully and unabashedly into his long-apparent Hitchcock love with Trap, the new Josh Hartnett-led suspense-heavy thriller that primarily takes place at a pop concert.
Said concert is for that of the faux artist Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan, M Night’s daughter and a singer-songwriter herself who wrote a number of original songs for the film), which Hartnett’s Cooper attends with his daughter as a reward for her good grades. For some reason, however, the arena is packed with cops and SWAT and FBI, and they’re all looking for Cooper. Why do they want him? Will he get out? Will he be, y’know, trapped?
Perhaps the trappings of Trap have something to do with Shyamalan getting old himself, but for a lot of folks there’s naught more harrowing than attending an arena-level pop show with a bunch of teens and tweens. In some ways, the Sixth Sense director still has the goods to befuddle and amuse his audiences—though he plays his cards a little early in the game this time, which rather deflates about a gazillion opportunities for tension. In other ways, Shyamalan still does that thing of his in which a film is essentially over but he just keeps right on going with the story (see The Village, Signs and Glass, for examples) so he can add his signature twist. The twist this time is disappointing.
No matter, though, because Trap is Hartnett’s chance—perhaps his first ever if you think about it—to truly sink his teeth into a character study, and he achieves great heights a few times.
Cooper’s a firefighter and a cool dad whose tween daughter (Wolf Like Me star Ariel Donoghue) might be little more than a plot device, but still adds to his mounting anxieties. Cooper has a secret, though his calm and calculating demeanor is sometimes bone-chilling in the face of his potential exposure. The rest of the film feels like po-mo Psycho but not nearly as good, especially in the final act.
Hartnett will likely be remembered for his performance choices, but Saleka Shyamalan doesn’t do Trap any favors. She’s a talented singer, and some of the film’s tunes are certifiable bangers, but when she delivers lines…stilted might not be a strong enough word. Even so, you’ve got to hand it to M Night for consistently experimenting within his well-established milieu. Even now, some 25 years after Haley Joel Osment saw dead people, our boy has the capacity to surprise us…at least a little.
5
+Hartnett slays; good fun at times
-Drawn-out final act; Saleka Shyamalan not great at acting
Trap
Directed by Shyamalan
With Hartnett, Donoghue and Shyamalan
Violet Crown Cinema, Regal, PG-13, 115 min.
