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The backlash against Night has gotten pretty out of control. After The Sixth Sense, he was doused with about as much praise (both critically and popularly) as is possible for a director, and since then it seems that people just can't wait to be the first to shout "HIS WORST ONE YET HE'S GONE CRAZY TOO MUCH TWIST GONE TO HIS HEAD HE PRETENTIOUS." The Sixth Sense was by far his most accessible movie and they get progressively personal stylistically. Some directors have success (reception-wise) when they follow their own path, and M. is certainly not one of them. While I, a big supporter of his, can't defend much about The Happening, I do think people need to calm down and look for the good in his movies, of which there is much! There's no one else like him, and he doesn't let the massive negative feedback sway him from pursuing his own vision (in a progressively sharper manner) with each film! This is a rare quality in directors, who often seem to become more and more mainstream as their careers move along. This should be supported! Not denounced as obnoxious arrogance! In the end, whatever you think of the quality of his work, we should all recognize how valuable it is when artists refuse to back down from the goals they have set for themselves, even in the face of the overwhelming hatred that has amassed before his feet over the years.
My personal favorite of his is Lady in the Water (AAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! BLASPHEMY!!!!). He makes no attempt to force in a twist (which is the most commonly reiterated complaint about him), and instead gives us a brand new kind of fairy tale (which lord knows we need in this era of incessant fable reimagnings, remakes, reduxes, and reyucks), a wonderful musing on the power and importance of spontaneous/collective storytelling (akin to Tarsem's "The Fall"), and not to mention one of the most effecting scores I've heard in a movie! Kudos to James Newton Howard! Incidentally, I highly recommend seeking out some of what Howard has said in interviews about working with Shyamalan. It definitely validated my love and respect for the man's work. Well, that's all for now. I said one more, then bed.
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Wasn't involved with the sequel, though, I don't believe.
