The past decade hasn’t been too kind to filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, who broke out back in 1999 with psychological thriller The Sixth Sense and has been on a pretty consistent downward spiral since then. Unbreakable and Signs aside, Shyamalan has turned out some pretty awful movies. Moviegoers really didn’t take to the “the trees are attacking” twist in his horror-thriller The Happening, Nickelodeon viewers certainly have him on their hit-list after the horrific, can’t-look-away train-wreck that was The Last Airbender, and his latest film, After Earth, just earned the director six Razzie nominations, including ones for Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay. And so, going back to a simpler time for his next project likely sounds pretty good to Shyamalan right now.
Working from a script that he sold to Fox way back in 1993, Shyamalan will direct his Sixth Sense star Bruce Willis in the drama Labor of Love. In the low-key film, Willis plays a Philadelphia book store owner who loses his wife in a tragic accident. Saddened by the prospect that he never properly expressed his love for her, the man begins a cross-country trek in hopes of answering a question she once asked him: Would you walk across the country for me?
There’s nary a twist to be seen in the film’s script, which is easily accessible online, but Labor of Love does offer a surprisingly moving, heartfelt story. It’s exactly the type of project that should be perfect for Shyamalan, who’s likely ready to break away from directing ill-fated blockbusters and overly convoluted thrillers.
Filming will get underway in Philadelphia this September. Lone Survivor studio Emmett/Furla/Oasis are set to finance the project.
Will you be biased against Labor of Love because of Shyamalan’s past failures, or do you think that the film sounds like the kind of touching story you’d be interested in checking out? Let us know below.
