Elliott’s wife Alma is played by Zooey Deschanel, who gives the most baffling performance of her life. Almost her very first shot is a big close-up showing her face apparently in clinical shock. She is deadly pale. Her eyes are the size and shape of saucers. She is supposed to be scared of everything. She does everything but press her hands to the side of her head. It’s as if Shyamalan has shown a picture of Munch’s The Scream and told her: “Look like that – only quiet.” She staggers around in a daze of bad acting, and the only thing Deschanel looks genuinely frightened by is the silliness of the script.
