“This individual we’re searching for won’t panic.”
Although it had all the elements to be more than it ended up being, M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap fell victim to the same pitfalls that have accompanied many of the director’s previous efforts. Everyone familiar with Shyamalsn’s work should have seen this coming. But there was something incredibly titillating about the premise of a father (Josh Hartnett) who takes his daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert only to discover the whole event has been staged by the FBI to capture a serial killer, who just so happens to be him.
It’s a great starting point, the perfect canvas with which to paint plenty of creative twists and moments of white-knuckled suspense. Unfortunately, Trap goes off the rails in the third act, stretching credibility (even by Shyamalan’s standards), and prompting many to wonder what about the movie appealed to them in the first place.
Trap may well be the biggest missed opportunity of the writer/director’s career. But it’s got one noteworthy feature that makes it somewhat worth remembering: Hayley Mills. Yes, that Hayley Mills turns up in a supporting role as the head of the FBI task force trying to take Hartnett’s killer down. The actress’ turn here proves that even when featured in a dire film such as Trap, a Hayley Mills performance is always worth enjoying.
Many know Mills from her days as Disney’s leading actress with a roster of films from the 1960s that have endured such as classics like Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, The Moon-Spinners, and That Darn Cat!, among others. Her post-Disney days saw the actress become a staple in the British independent film wave of the 1970s and 80s before trying her hand at live theater in revivals of projects such as Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels and The King and I. In the past few years, the Oscar-winner has continued to alternate between the stage (her 2018 turn in the off-Broadway comedy Party Face brought her good reviews) and on British TV, most recently in season five of the Masterpiece mystery series Unforgotten all while continuing to cement her standing as a Disney icon for many generations.
The casting of Mills in a Shyamalan thriller may seem a bit off-the-wall, but not really when you consider that the director actually has a penchant for giving roles to actors many never expected would fit into his universe. When it comes down to it, Mills is just the latest in a notable line of performers no one could have guessed they’d see show up in any of the director’s creations. In the wake of Trap‘s recent home video release and the reminder that Mills is still a welcome presence on the screen, I thought a look back on some other surprise Shyamalan castings was in order.
Donnie Wahlberg- The Sixth Sense
Many would not have expected the former bad boy New Kid to be cast in such a pivotal role in what would become Shyamalan’s most acclaimed film. Yet the former boy bander-turned-actor surprised everyone with a turn that proved pivotal to the rest of the film, including and especially that iconic twist. Wahlberg went to great physical and emotional lengths to embody his disturbed character, proving to everyone that he was more than just another musician who found his way onto a movie set.
Patricia Kalember- Signs
Those who watched NBC on Saturday nights in the 90s at some point encountered Kalember in the hit drama series Sisters. While co-stars Sela Ward and Swoosie Kurtz may have had more name recognition, Kalember warmed hearts as middle sister Georgie, quickly becoming a fan favorite and eventually a staple in the TV movie realm. Her casting as Mel Gibson’s wife in Signs was random, but welcome. In one of the film’s most crucial scenes, Kalember brings a warm, grounded quality to the alien drama, managing to even bring out emotions from her famous leading man no one thought capable of displaying.
Judy Greer- The Village
Greer has always been that girl from that thing, at least according to her book’s title. The character actress has usually been called on to play zany, comedic characters that oftentimes serve as the foil for whichever actor is serving as the straight man in front of her. Her casting as a young woman whose town is being plagued by monsters in The Village has her credibly expressing the kind of dread and fear we hadn’t really seen from her before and wouldn’t see again until her fantastic turn in 2018’s Halloween.
Bob Balaban- Lady in the Water
Many have looked at Balaban’s character from 2006’s Lady in the Water as Shyamalan seeking revenge. The well-respected character actor plays a movie critic who moves into an apartment complex that happens to have magical creatures roaming around. Known more as a staple in the comedic worlds of Christopher Guest and Wes Anderson, Balaban brings his trademark dry wit to Lady in the Water, providing some unexpected laughs as a man who approaches and critiques every situation as if he were in his own movie.
Betty Buckley- The Happening, Split
The one-two punch of Brian DePalma’s Carrie and TV’s Eight is Enough made Buckley well-known in the 70s, providing her with two influential calling cards that any actress would dream of. The roles of a high school coach and a 70s matriarch showed a range, which Shyamalan put to good use twice. First, he cast Buckley as a paranoid recluse in 2004’s The Happening where she emerged as the only bright spot of that appalling movie. A decade later, Buckley turned up again as a psychologist trying to understand a terrifying James McAvoy in Split.
Kathryn Hahn- The Visit
Known almost exclusively as a comedic actress, Hahn proved herself a laugh-filled force in roles for James L. Brooks, and Peter Bogdanovich, and especially in her scene-stealing turn in Parks and Recreation. Anyone following her career couldn’t have been more surprised to see her turn up in The Visit. Playing a woman trying to reconcile with her past, Hahn’s scenes have a beautiful melancholy to them as she injects emotion and heart into a character trying to build herself back from a former life that nearly destroyed her.
Hayley Mills- Trap
Mills hadn’t been on American movie screens in decades when she took on the role of a former FBI profiler who came out of retirement to help bring down Hartnett’s serial killer in Trap. Because Mills can’t help but inject sunniness into her roles, it’s surprising to see her channel some definite frostiness here, which she pulls off credibly. Always lingering in the shadows as she dives into the cat-and-mouse game with the prey she’s chasing, Mills pulls off the character of a woman whose entire professional life has come down to capturing one of the most dangerous individuals she’s ever encountered.
Even though Trap ended up being another Shyamalan fiasco, Mills’ participation at least makes it a notable venture for some. It’s clear that the director loves actors, regardless of their public image or box-office popularity. He’s someone who knows what the right performers can bring to his movies, how they can elevate them, and bring the characters he created to life in ways he never envisioned. It’s hard not to be excited by a filmmaker who possesses this kind of sensibility. If the intrigue that exists within every idea he has doesn’t always pan out, it’s hardly anything to be surprised by at this point. Still, with an imagination such as his, it’s hard to write a director of Shyamalan’s imagination and bravado off.
Trap is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
