PG-13 | 1h 45m | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Thriller | 2024
For his 16th feature, writer-director-producer M. Night Shyamalan forgoes his usual supernatural and horror calling cards in favor of a straight out mystery-crime thriller that owes a great deal to Alfred Hitchcock and Brian DePalma.
Taking place in a single day, “Trap” is set (as are most of his movies) in Shyamalan’s hometown of Philadelphia, with half taking place at an indoor concert arena and half in the surrounding suburbs.
As a reward for his daughter Riley’s (Ariel Donoghue) good grades, her proud dad Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) snagged two primo floor seats to a sold-out show headlined by Lady Raven (Saleka, Shyamalan’s eldest daughter). A hybrid of sorts of Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga, Lady Raven has a rabid fan base comprised almost entirely of giddy young teen girls.
Lots of Cops
Before even taking his seat, Cooper notices an inordinately high number of police and S.W.A.T. teams and starts to get antsy. His sense of dread heightens when he sees several white men of medium build in their late 30s and early 40s being escorted out by authorities.A man with a seemingly bottomless reserve of disarming charm, Cooper quickly befriends a T-shirt vendor and asks why there is so much security. Like a fifth grader incapable of keeping a secret, the vendor tells Cooper they are there to capture “The Butcher,” a serial killer who has already claimed a dozen victims.
Too Old?
Another big sore thumb shows up in the form of a woman in her late 70s referred to only as Grant (Hayley Mills), the leader of the sting operation. I simply couldn’t believe that anyone that age, man or woman, would be in charge on site of such a large, near-military-level undertaking.
But each of my misgivings regarding these initially nonsensical plot holes were negated beginning in the middle of the second act. Shyamalan covers all his bases and makes sure nothing is left dangling.
My sole remaining gripe was the inordinate amount of time devoted to the Lady Raven character during the concert. Rather than using snippets or extended passages of songs, Shyamalan turns three of them into full length centerpieces. The lyrical content has little to do with the story. Rather than propelling the narrative, the music far too often puts it on hold. A skeptic might say this smacks heavily of nepotism.
It’s not that Saleka can’t sing; she’s more than capable. But my second complaint with Saleka is that she can’t act a lick. This comes firmly to the fore in the second half when she has dialogue exchanges with seasoned vets Hartnett, Mills, and a late-in-arriving Alison Pill (as Cooper’s wife Rachel). Seleka does to “Trap” what Sofia Coppola did to “The Godfather III.”
No More Pretty Boy
This all changed last year with his small but crucial role as renowned physicist Ernest Lawrence in “Oppenheimer.” For the first time Hartnett seemed comfortable in his own skin. He made what could have been just another bit part into something far more interesting.
As Cooper in “Trap,” Hartnett has finally achieved greatness. His performance here is nothing short of outstanding. We have to wait until the final act to see just how well he inhabits such a complicated dark shell with an outwardly genteel veneer, but it’s well worth the wait. Is it Oscar-worthy? Maybe.
Without straying into spoiler territory, I can say without hesitation that good triumphs over evil here. No one dies at Cooper’s hand. Beyond that, I won’t reveal any more of the finer plot details.
Thankfully absent in “Trap” is Shyamalan’s trademark “ah-ha” final twist. In virtually all of his past works, he includes some out-of-left-field gotcha surprise that somewhat or entirely changes the expected ending. For me this device has only worked about half of the time.
All but Shyamalan’s first two features have landed squarely in the black. His fan base is solid even when he makes turkeys such as “The Happening,” “The Last Airbender,” and “After Earth.” It is my hope that he continues to avoid horror and supernatural and delivers more grounded thrillers, without the participation of any of his blood relatives.
