Studio: Barry Mendel Productions
Director, writer and co-producer: M. Night Shyamalan
Principle Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley
Release: June 13^th, 2008
Film Length: 1h31m
Rating: 14A 

Reviewed By: Brittney Teasdale (Downtown Toronto correspondent - Canada)

The Happening is a psychological thriller about an unexplainable and unstoppable event which is challenging the basic human instinct of survival. M. Night Shyamalan, director of films such as The Sixth Sense, Sign, and Unbreakable, puts together a visually and emotionally disturbing film which evokes a sense of sadness in the viewers by manufacturing a narrative which involves an unknown substance or being forcing characters in the film to commit suicide. The film narrative begins in New York, which is where the unstoppable event commences. Construction worker begin to fall from the sky, literally. When the people become in contact with the unknown substance, firstly, they become disorientated and start to speak nonsense, then they freeze, and finally, they find the fastest way to end their own lives. The pandemic begins in popular, densely populated parks, but the events quickly spread to near cities and towns. Initially, the events are thought to be terrorist attacks, but this theory is later disregarded because the events begin to occur in sparsely populated areas.  

Elliot Moore, played by Mark Wahlberg, is a Philadelphia high-school science teacher who's main focus throughout the film is to find a rational explanation for the events occurring all over the North East coast and a way to escape them. Elliot, his wife Alma, played by Zooey Deschanel, his friend Julian (John Leguizamo), and Julian's 8 year-old daughter Jess decide to head for the Pennsylvania farmlands until the deadly events blow over.

Wahlberg, who usually plays the token tough guy in a flick, is the opposite of this in The Happening. Wahlberg's character, Elliot Moore, is a geeky, timid science teacher who is quite soft spoken. Mark Wahlberg puts on a sub-par performance, which may be partly due to the poorly-written script. Both Wahlberg and Deschanel seem to be miscast as the protagonists of the film, as Wahlberg does not fit the profile of a reserved science teacher and Deschanel usually plays quirky characters, while the character Alma seems to be rather flat.  

The Happening, while disturbing, morbid and maybe not M. Night Shyamalan's best picture, tries to put forth a very important message to society, which everyone should pay attention to: our planet needs saving!