Mucking with Movies: ‘Trap’

I would say M. Night Shyamalan has returned to form with the effort in his newest feature “Trap,” but the truth is, he’s always been around.

His most recent work before this — “Knock at the Cabin,” “Old,” and “Split” (I haven’t seen “Glass”) — has shown hints at the promise that once had him hyped as “The Next Steven Spielberg.” Able to exert ridiculous control over his narratives, Shyamalan’s greatest trait has always been to add layer upon layer of texture to his films. The issue throughout his career is to balance that with his worst traits.

Struggling with directing the actor and often getting lost in unnecessarily tricky camera movements, his movies can turn into awful slogs. But, in “Trap,” Shyamalan can avoid this entrapping with one of the best films he’s ever made and one of the best films I’ve watched this year. 

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The biggest credit for making this film work should go to Josh Hartnett’s performance as the dad/Cooper/The Butcher. Establishing early on an endearing demeanor that makes him lovable not just to the audience but to his daughter Riley, you start building an odd affinity towards this sociopath. His palpable anxiety radiates off the screen as the mouse is stuck in a maze.

Balancing the danger of being a killer and the concern of a father, you can see the constant dance play out across his face. He must get out by any means necessary, but he will not do so without his little girl. At the same time, you can see his satisfaction in enjoying the chase. The thrill of being known and how this is one more puzzle he will beat to add to the lore of The Butcher. Surrounded by thousands of screaming fans, you can see him playing around with the idea that it is all for him, that the allure of celebrity is so strong he does not mind his comes from infamy.

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The first two acts of the movie center around Cooper’s cunning strategizing to escape the arena where Riley’s favorite pop star Lady Raven is having a show. During brief fleeting moments, I found myself actually cheering for him to get out. But, he won’t leave without his daughter, and Shyamalan uses that charming parenting care that he has for her as the lens through which we get to know Cooper.

Hints at his barbarism are dropped, at times they are even displayed nakedly on the screen, but Shyamalan is always quick to move away from those moments. Instead, he focuses on the reasons you want him to get away, as invalid as your cheering may be. Detailing about how he doesn’t want to scar the daughter with Cooper’s sociopathic brilliance to prey upon emotions.

It is a fascinating dalliance with the current trend of true-crime podcasts and documentaries. What draws us to these monsters? What pushes us to consume so much media about such disturbing atrocities?

Of course, though, Shyamalan still struggles to get out of his way. Like all of his films, he is the writer as well, and also like all of his films, the script has all the subtly of getting hit over the head by a plank of wood. Most of the time, he’s able to direct his way out of it, but if I could ever grab his ear, I would implore him to pick up a script from a better writer — not just because I think he’s not that great at it, but it would be interesting! A chance to continuously test himself while giving his fans something new to chew on! A boy can dream. 

Moreover, he is constantly doing more when less would do. Giving us ten shots of the police surrounding the arena when five would do, playing up the whole “It can be anyone!” bit a few too many times and, on a technical level, offering unmotivated camera movement shatters the immersion that has been so delicately built. It was not heavy-handed as much as it just overplaying his hand. 

Despite all that, still an absolute banger of a film. Shyamalan is on a run right now and is threatening to get even better with age. I can’t remember anybody going from such an awful run of films into such a terrific one. Personally, I cannot wait to see what he has next, and I will be rewatching “Trap” as soon as possible. 

Critic Score: 7.9/10

Jack Simon is a mogul coach and writer/director who enjoys eating food he can’t afford, traveling to places out of his budget, and creating art about skiing, eating, and traveling while broke. Check out his website jacksimonmakes.com to see his Jack’s Jitney travelogue series. You can email him at jackdocsimon@gmail.com for inquiries of any type.