No spoilers of course, but it wouldn’t be an M. Night Shyamalan film without a big twist, right? However, like some gimmicky curveballs of the past from the filmmaker that haven’t always worked, calling what happens in “Trap,” Shyamalan’s latest film, a twist might be misnomer. Because what occurs in this tense, taut and entertaining catch-a-serial-killer-drama is initially compelling; a popcorn cinema-approach to a single-setting thriller. But subverting the genre with an audacious, unexpected structure, Shyamalan’s “Trap” takes a tonal turn, and evolves into something much darker, more disturbing and even heartbreaking. Furthermore, it’s one of Shyamalan’s best movies in years, arguably since “The Village” and its shape is almost two movies in one— the ambitious structural morphing from the first and second acts, to the unforeseen third, is somber and engrossing.
Plus, “Trap” features that filmmaker’s patented twisted sense of dark humor that’s light on its feet. It’s not entirely perfect, and suspension of disbelief may vary, but M. Night returns to fine form here, led by a terrific performance from Josh Hartnett. In the parlance of the kids, we are so back (for both director and Hartnett).
“Trap” also features a terrific premise that only elevates the overall experience and one that challenges the idea of the hero and protagonist. Hartnett stars as Cooper, a local firefighter and decent family man who is taking his daughter to a stadium concert in Philadelphia. The artist in question is the fictional pop star, Lady Raven, (played by Saleka Shyamalan, the filmmaker’s real-life R&B pop singer daughter), a Taylor Swift-like favorite to Cooper’s young tween daughter Riley (newcomer Ariel Donoghue).
The concert is a typical pop concert experience, screaming fans, big fancy productions and lights that dazzle and catchy hits (written by Saleka as well), with a well-meaning dad who suffers through it all. But Cooper starts to notice the massive police presence throughout the stadium that seems to be increasing by the minute. The father becomes increasing rattled and nervous, acting odd, and making several excuses to his daughter to walk around and leave his seat. Eventually he charms a stadium employee the working concert T-shirt and merch tables and asks what’s going on? He’s not supposed to tell, but—as you’ve surely already seen in the trailers—the entire concert is a ruse and sting operation mounted by law-enforcement and the FBI to catch a local serial killer terrorizing the area dubbed by the media, “The Butcher.” And of course, as already revealed, Cooper is that killer in secret: a man living a double life, compartmentalizing to the nth degree. On one hand, Cooper is upstanding member of the community, a devoted husband and father to his two children, but at night, he’s a cold-blooded killer. And from there, Shyamalan’s movie pops off, and skillfully and engagingly tell the story of the wall closing in on a killer.
Already twitchy, “The Trap” becomes extra agitated when Cooper is let in on the secret what the audience already knows, and then starts eyeing the doors and plotting an escape. But as Cooper soon realizes, the police are blocking all the exit areas and have already started pulling white men aside for questioning who fit the mid-‘40s white guy profile which he fits to a tee.
You can’t really unpeel more of Shyamalan’s tightly crafted, suffocating thriller without revealing too much of it. But suffice to say it begins to claustrophobically coil, as the noose around Cooper’s neck seems to get tighter and tighter and he seemingly runs out of options. Eventually attracting the attention of his concerned daughter who was initially too absorbed in the concert to notice, she becomes increasingly alarmed and worried by his erratic and distracted behavior, constantly leaving to attempt and plan a seemingly unlikely getaway, the odds of which seem less and less as the concert progresses.
Clever, shrewd and canny, Cooper pulls all kinds of tricks to get behind the scenes, on the roof, and into employee-only areas, but each flightpath seems carefully blocked. To pull off a breakout, he has to get super bold, ambitious, and throws some inventive hail Mary passes in desperation.
No spoilers from there, but as suggested, “The Trap” shapeshifts, and the drama slithers ominously shedding its skin, becoming a brand-new creature on its own and a true-anxiety-riddled rollercoaster at that. This final act may feel a little incredulous, in spots, but it succeeds nonetheless in how emotional, psychologically dark and threatening the film becomes. Suffice it to say “The Trap” is hard to review beyond the mid-point, but that’s ok, the less you know, the better (Kid Cudi does have a small cameo near the end of the second act at a diva pop star which is a nice moment of much-needed comedic relief).
What can be discussed is how good Hartnett is at threading the needle of a complex and clearly super damaged character. He plays his character’s slow-burn evolution with great precision and thoughtfulness, going from loving and caring, to apprehensive and stressed, while simultaneously trying to hide his fretfulness from his daughter or any of the many people he bumps into during his many uneasy and jumpy concert breaks, including a Karen-like mom whose daughter has been acting cruel and crappy to Riley in recent weeks. The last act of his elaborate transformation is well, something else, but it’s done with terrifically calculated and nuanced menace that’s creepy, uncomfortable and in its own way, heartachingly sad. Hartnett is essentially playing several roles at once, or at least several subtly-shifting layers of them and its exceptionally compelling and one of his best ever turns.
Moreover, Shyamalan pulls off an intricate Hitchockian trick of orchestrating an emotional journey for the viewer that’s multi-dynamic in its ever-shifting sympathies. In theory, you want the killer to be caught, but like any good movie from the master of suspense, Shyamalan taps into our innate humanness; you can’t also help but empathize with him, and his plight of being a nearly caged and desperate rat. Of course, you also identify with his daughter, his family and many other characters who become part of the plot, but this sophisticated and slippery empathy shifting throughout is masterfully constructed and why the film is so gripping and tightly-wound.
Shyamalan’s crafts a deceptively simple experience. The plot is rather ingeniously straightforward, at first, but the fraught journey of a father and killer trying not to upend and upset the carefully constructed delusional fabrication of his life—and how the two identities crash into each other on one fateful day— is exhilaratingly multifaceted. “Trap” ends with what amounts to a wicked, twisted smile, but the final frantic mile contains an admirable amount of depth about family, those we love and the warped mirror effect of who we think we are at our best and worst. [B+]
“Trap” opens in theaters August 2 via Warner Bros.