Trap
On yet another fruitless search for a movie to review that is available on streaming, I first ran across a big budget (for China) historical about the brave resistance to the imperialist Americans in the Korean War. It was interesting, but in the end I couldn’t take it. So, I kept going down the list on my phone for possibilities and discarding them one by one. Sometimes, reviewing is hard.
The movie I landed on was something I thought might be somewhat interesting, and I didn’t realize it was an M. Night Shyamalan film till the opening credits. That cooled my jets a bit. I’ve only seen one of his movies, years ago and thought it was amazingly overrated. Since then, I simply haven’t been interested. What I did know was that it would be twisty, probably shockingly so, and well made.
So I was right about both of those things. The plot is completely straightforward and simple in its base form. Cooper is the perfect girl dad, who takes his tween daughter to a Lady Raven concert. She’s a Taylor Swift magnitude pop singer so there are a lot of screaming kids. He’s not the only girl dad there, but he does notice right off the bat the extreme police presence as they enter. It doesn’t take long for him to realize they’re looking for him, since his hobby is gruesomely killing people. He even has a nickname. There are thousands of police, and they won’t let any male over a certain age leave without a close look. It’s a strong trap, he discovers, as he spends quite a bit of the movie trying to figure out how to escape.
It’s the beginning of a fast moving cat and mouse game, as this smartest sociopath since Hannibal Lector seems to have met his brainiac match. The old lady FBI profiler seems to know everything he’ll do, but he’s so, so clever and cool a viewer doesn’t know really how it’s going to shake out. I was impressed by how clever the writer, Shyamalan, made both sides. He works so hard to try and get out, without letting his adoring daughter know what’s going on, that it would be easy to admire his grit and determination. But the director reminds us not so subtly that this is not a good guy. It’s a nicely done dilemma, plot wise. This guy is trapped not only by a well led police presence, but his daughter’s love as well, and the viewer is trapped between rooting for an awful human and the police and everyone else trying to catch him.
One quick thing that made me admire the screenplay even more was how, after I voiced a nagging question – aloud of course, as I watched in the Back Room of Banishment = about the plot, the answer was eventually revealed in a wonderful way. The acting, direction, art, music, everything is solid, but the writing was what stood out the most for me.
Cooper is played by Josh Hartnett (Oppenheimer, Wrath of Man). He’s the perfect mild mannered dad, even in the face of his super toxic Karen neighbor who threatens him with, “I have a dark side, Cooper. You don’t want to see it.” Yeah, I laughed. That was a great humorous moment in a not funny film. When he finally shows his true face it’s horrifying. He just smiled, but it gave me a definite shiver. Lady Raven is played brilliantly by Saleka Shyamalan, M. Night’s daughter. Her movie credits are pretty much non-existent but she’s the second pop singer I’ve seen this year killing it as an actress.
I definitely recommend catching this one if you don’t mind being tempted to the dark side of rooting for a seriously wicked and dangerous killer. I never did, but I felt a strong pull to do it. It’s well written, giving every major player a great, curvy arc. There’s almost no gore but there is a scene that tries to rip your heart out. I was impressed by M. Night’s daughter, and a chilling Josh Hartnett. I’m not exactly going to say how it ends in the spoiler below, but you may want to seriously consider how much you want to know before reading it.
Available on: Max, Apple, Sling, plex, prime video, Fandango at Home, Rox 8
SPOILER BELOW
Spoiler: I was impressed at how the women pitted against this guy are all brilliant and brave in the face of his dangerous insanity, not least of which was Lady Raven. That character is a major surprise.
END SPOILER
LINKS:
CFR: In Addition
Wow. I’m glad Cranky reviewed this movie, cause now I want to watch it.
I remember seeing it advertised in the theater and made a note to watch. I do like M. Night Shyamalan’s work.* Unfortunately, I never got around to seeing it. I will have to change that.
What I really really really like, no LOVE about Shyamalan is that he casts older women in roles where they are smart and capable. I LOVE THAT! Thank you, sir! It is refreshing to see women portrayed as intelligent. Even better to see them as older. I’m annoyed with the young and beautiful trope applied to women who need years of training to become as brilliant as they are written. Huzzah! That is a HUGE reason for me to watch this movie.
Also Uh. After watching the trailer I just note that Josh Hartnett is tall. Like is he really tall. Or is everyone else around him made to look intentially shorter. Huh. I will have to look for this when I watch it. Now I no longer watch scary movies due to my living situation, and I have a feeling this movie would creep me out. So I will watch it tomorow.
Looking forward to watching this in the bright light of day.
Thanks Cranky!
*Just DO NOT mention The Last Airbender. Do. Not. Mention. Ever.
Chick Flicking Reviews 