The Village


Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Judy Greer, Jesse Eisenberg
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror
2004

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: In a small village, the townspeople live in a fragile truce with strange monsters in the surrounding forrest- the monsters do not come into the town, the people do not travel into the woods. However, after the monsters leave mysterious warnings one night, some in the village believe the truce may be over.

Review:

Tim: The pressure of making great movies with incredible twists at the end finally got to M. Night Shyamalan. Sooner or later, he would disappoint is, and it come sooner, rather than later. The first hour or so of this movie is incredible (dare I say among Shyamalan's best?). However, when it comes time for Shyamalan's big twist, you can see on screen that he knew he was expected to have one and instead gives us a few twists all in a row. The problem is that they are lame.

The film does have some amazing characters. Joaquin Phoenix is wonderful in the movie as a fearless but quiet man. I loved him in this role. Equally as good is Bryce Dallas Howard in a truly star making role. I was blown away by her performance. William Hurt is good and delivers the film's best line- "You are fearless in a way I shall never know."

Shyamalan is the master of creepy films and he evokes some fear in this film. His handling of the "evil color" is brilliant and the monsters are certainly fear inspiring.

The Village boasts some of Shyamalan's best work, but his twists are predictable, weak, and effectively ruin the movie. However, there are enough positives to convince me Shyamalan will bounce back strongly.

Rating 1-10

Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, Wide Awake, Gladiator