Much has been said about mysterious director M. Night Shyamalan. Anything from “complete genius” to “one-hit flameout artist.” Following The Sixth Sense, the considered master of the twist ending has unraveled in ugly ways.
We were given Unbreakable, and it appeared the man was picking up where he left off. Then, came Signs, The Village, The Lady in the Water, and The Happening. It was sad. Moreover, it was completely disappointing.
So, having heard the news for two years, we got The Last Airbender. Three years later, After Earth. After that, fans from once upon a time began calling for M. Night Shyamalan’s SAG card. You know? To burn it.
Yet, something happened in 2015. This divinely intelligent and gifted man began to stop sucking. The Visit about some after-hours psycho granny and FOX’s runaway hit Wayward Pines. Each with the “WTF” M. Night Shyamalan touch.
That was followed with Split, and before we knew it, we’re caught up in a trilogy in Glass!
He has a slew of fans, including yours truly who has always believed the man needs yet another chance. So, when news came out this weekend about his latest project Old, we are once again in the M. Night Shyamalan “please don’t disappoint us again” cycle.
So…will he?
M. Night Shyamalan Got Old…and French?
There he is. The man featuring what’s slated for July 2021. And after what he pulled out of his bag of tricks, the Internet was all eyes and ears for this…
Evidently, Old, as this movie appears to be called looks like a play out of the Nolan book. We all know how much he loves screwing with our concept of time (see: Inception, Interstellar, Tenet). But, when you dig a little deeper, we find M. Night Shyamalan’s inspiration — a French graphic novel called “Sandcastle.”
The 2010 material was written by Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters. Not that you should know who they are, but the writing is enough to spark the interest of the esoteric and enigmatic director.
And we can thank his kids for this. Shyamalan reportedly purchased the rights after he received “Sandcastle” as a Father’s Day gift.
So, what’s it all about? Here’s the GoodReads synopsis:
It’s a perfect beach day, or so thought the family, young couple, a few tourists, and a refugee who all end up in the same secluded, idyllic cove filled with rock pools and sandy shore, encircled by green, densely vegetated cliffs.
But this utopia hides a dark secret.
First there is the dead body of a woman found floating in the crystal-clear water.
Then there is the odd fact that all the children are aging rapidly. Soon everybody is growing older—every half hour—and there doesn’t seem to be any way out of the cove. Levy’s dramatic storytelling works seamlessly with Peeters’s sinister art to create a profoundly disturbing and fantastical mystery.
Yup. Sounds like a M. Night Shyamalan plot to me.
According to Collider, Gael Garcia Bernal leads an ensemble cast that includes Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Aaron Pierre, Alex Wolff, Vicky Krieps, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Rufus Sewell, Embeth Davidtz and Emun Elliott.
So, interested…or is M. Night Shyamalan getting Old to you?
You must log in to post a comment.