The latest thriller by M. Night Shyamalan, a master of cinema since the days of “The Sixth Sense”, is finally available in theaters, still considered an authentic masterpiece of high-tension cinema. With “Trap”, the director directs a surprising Josh Hartnett to give shape to a deep and nuanced criminal mind, giving the Hollywood star what can be recognized without a doubt as the best performance of his career.
In an emotional rollercoaster that alternates action with introspection, Shyamalan makes us experience the double life of a father and a dangerous criminal : attending the concert of the star Lady Raven with his daughter, Cooper discovers that the show is nothing but a trap set by the federals to capture him. His horrible secret hidden behind the features of an exemplary parent risks crumbling, transforming a moment of family sharing into a desperate escape with no escape.
The experience of playing such a fascinating and uncomfortable character at the same time motivated Hartnett to share some impressions in an interview with ComicBook. From what transpires, the actor would have struggled to free himself from the cumbersome weight of the character once filming was over, so much so that he found in his family the ideal remedy to regain the right serenity: «Actually, you know what, this movie was quite dark. Luckily, children don't allow you to have time to analyze your things and worry about your day like I would have done before having children. So, I come home and there are things to do. I have to make dinner or put them to bed or change a diaper. They take away your time to think and I think that's great, because then you can completely reset your brain without having to worry too much. That helped me a lot to get out of character better once the movie was over».
And going into specifics on the psychological aspects of his role, he added: « There are residues that remain in your memory because this character has a really dark psychology . And everything else is a show, his whole life with his daughter and his wife is just a facade, until he realizes that something in him has turned on. It's an interesting journey for the character and it's also interesting as an actor to be able to play it. But it's not something you have to live with every day».
