The Happening

release year: 2008
genre: drama
viewing setting: home DVD, 11/15/20 and 10/17/08

synopsis: Something, apparently in the air, causes people to start killing themselves...and it's spreading.

impressions: This started out strong but devolved into a mass of confusing nonsense. It's tough to explain that statement without giving anything away, but I will say that there was no apparent rhyme or reason to the behavior of a certain old woman - the plot wasn't furthered by that bit at all. And in the big scheme of things, the major questions weren't answered, the main one being "why?" (which, to be fair, may have been the point.)

something this movie has that no other movie has: A guy putting a tractor in drive and then lying down in front of it. What a way to go!

acting: Mark Wahlberg is fine as an intellectual main hero. Zooey Deschanel is his quirky wife, who sometimes does not apply logic to situations. Ashlyn Sanchez is an almost-as-quirky weird little girl who's the daughter of their friend, played by John Leguizamo.

final word: Good start, but ultimately somewhat unsatisfying.

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