M. Night Shyamalan has come to a point in his career where he just makes the films he wants to make – detractors be damned. All of his films post The Last Airbender – with the exception of Split – have been divisive. Those of us who enjoy his films recognise that they aren’t wholly good anymore, but we’re not going to apologise for the parts that we do enjoy. Trap is such a film, where I can’t loudly proclaim it as a good movie, however, I can acknowledge that I enjoyed myself a whole lot in the cinema.
Trap begins with Cooper (Josh Hartnett) bringing his younger daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) concert. For those of us who have been to the Eras Tour, it’s clear as day that Taylor Swift’s concert tour was used as motivation for creating the persona and aesthetic of Lady Raven. Lady Raven is played by M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, and the movie is basically a vehicle to launch her singing career. You gotta love nepotism. But hey, I enjoyed the concert segments, and was vibing to the music, so I’m not going to jump on the nepo baby hate train just yet.
We learn that the police have planned a trap for a serial killer called the Butcher – wish the serial killer name wasn’t quite so derivative, but this is M. Night we’re dealing with. So instead of an enjoyable night spent with his daughter, Cooper must now find a way out of the trap the police have laid for him.
I think nobody would disagree with me when I say that Hartnett’s performance is the best part of the movie. He really fleshes out the duality of Cooper’s character, and we can observe the compartmentalisation that has governed most of his life. There’s the killer side of him, but he’s also a man who deeply loves his family. I don’t think my dad would have willingly bought tickets to a Taylor Swift concert for me, let alone accompanied me to go see it. I know this because I had the chance to see Westlife when I was 12, and my parents said no because they felt I was too young. Why couldn’t my father have been more of a serial killer type of family man?
Besides Hartnett’s performance, the movie is able to build tension, and at times, we’re reminded of what a skilled director M. Night can be. The problem is, most of these scenes we’ve already seen in the trailer, so we kind of know what’s coming. The best thing would have been to go in completely blind, and then I think the segments at the concert would be received better. Still, there was comedy and tension – M. Night had me guessing and laughing at the same time. I dare you not to laugh when Kid Cudi throws his hair back at Josh Hartnett and calls him zaddy.
There are some baffling sequences that don’t make sense when we consider how the real world works, but you should know this is bound to happen in a M. Night Shyamalan movie. Just go with it and try not to linger on all the plot contrivances. The scenes between Cooper and his wife Rachel (Alison Pill) are incredible though. I know many won’t agree with me, but the performances from the both of them are just stellar – so much tension and emotional stakes. Hartnett also delivers the best pie acting since James Franco in Spider-man 3.
Trap is a movie to check out if you’re a Josh Hartnett fan or if you just want to have a good time at the movies. It’s a movie to laugh at and with – all at the same time.
REVIEW SCORE: 3/5
