“What you see is what you get” could have been the slogan for M. Night Shyamalan’s film career until a few years ago. If you add a pseudo-shocking twist to the end of a supernatural horror or psychological thriller, with some wooden acting and unnatural dialogue, you have a Shyamalan film.
But lately he has been toning down the twists and turns, for better or for worse. Although it is a predictable cliche in his repertoire, the abandonment of this cliche has now made his films rather boring. His new release, Catchis neither exciting nor boring and, above all, reminds us of everything that polarizes the filmmaker’s reputation.
At a sold-out stadium concert by pop sensation Lady Raven (Saleka), a large team of SWAT and FBI agents surround the building when the head of a secret operation, Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills), announces that her wanted serial killer will be attending the show. At the same time, suburban dad Cooper (Josh Hartnett) and his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) have tickets and are enjoying the day together listening to Riley’s favorite artist.
Alison Pill plays Cooper’s wife and Riley’s mother, Jonathan Langdon plays a merchandise salesman who alerts Cooper to the planned “trap” for the killer, and Marnie McPhail appears as the mother of one of Ariel’s classmates who is also at the concert. The trailers for Catch made it seem like the entire story took place at the venue, which honestly would have made the film more interesting than it was.
Once it becomes obvious that the killer is Cooper, we get the usual trash and gimmicks, with Saleka’s (Shyamalan’s real-life daughter) original music playing as the film’s entire soundtrack. The last 40 minutes outside the stadium are simply a repetition of the usual thriller genre we all know.
Unfortunately, it’s a good thing that Saleka is also more interested in music, because her acting leaves a lot to be desired once she becomes a legitimate character in the plot. Mills is underused and it’s definitely no coincidence that she was the original star of David Swift’s The Twin Trap (1961) is now playing in a film about a parent trapped in one place.
Some people treat Catch as more of a comedy to make up for the stilted dialogue and Hartnett’s performance, because you have to assume he’s at least intentionally playing the role humorously, so contrived is his acting here. The problem is that everyone else is playing their roles completely seriously, so the tone is inconsistent, especially outside of the concert.
I found myself laughing a few times at the ridiculousness, and rapper Kid Cudi makes a very funny cameo, but anyone watching a Shyamalan film these days should be aware of how much the direction affects them.
