Review #776 - Village, The (2004)
THE SCOOP
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody
Plot: The population of a small, isolated countryside village believes that their alliance with the mythical creatures that inhabit the forest around them is coming to an end.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Awards: Nom. for 1 Oscar - Best Original Score.
Runtime: 108min
Rating: PG for a scene of violence and frightening situations.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: MILD)
“There are secrets in every corner of
this village. Do you not feel it? Do you not see it?”
The Village had its fair
share of haters when it was first released. In fact, there had been so few
admirers of the film over the years that it has become known as a Shyamalan
‘flop’, the one that signaled the beginning of an end for the director who gave
us modern mystery-suspense classics like The Sixth Sense (1999) and Signs (2002).
The Village remains to be
the most beautifully shot Shyamalan feature in his entire oeuvre to date, not
surprising because the film’s cinematography is handled by the legendary Roger
Deakins.
Brilliant lighting, the
use of startling primary colours red and yellow, and some innovative long takes
give The Village a kind of visual
splendor rarely seen in a mystery film with horror elements. The story,
however, does not live up to its excellent visuals. But for all of its flaws
and loopholes in logic, it still captivates only
if you are willing to be suck into the world of Shyamalan.
He may be a filmmaker who
is living on borrowed time, and his audience losing faith in his storytelling
abilities, but Shyamalan is still one of the contemporary masters of suspense
filmmaking. He has that rare gift of cranking up the tension and dread, yet his
films retain its dramatic potency without straying to quasi-horror territory that other filmmakers inevitably are
forced to do.
The Village centers on an
isolated community that lives in the woods. There is a kind of serene 19th
century period setting to the place. But not all is peaceful as it seems. There
is a truce – the people of this community are forbidden to cross a certain
boundary, while the meat-eating creatures on the other side stay clear of the
community.
Joaquin Phoenix plays
Lucius Hunt who falls in love with Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard). An
unfortunate incident occurs, and the power of love is all that stands between
life and death. Howard gives a stunning breakout performance that is impossible
to dislike, with Phoneix and a supporting cast including Adrien Brody, William
Hurt and Sigourney Weaver providing adequate support.
While Signs explored the theme of faith, The Village is essentially a film about love and hope. It does have
an uneven first act with some cringe-worthy moments like the scene where a girl
lyrically confesses to a boy in a shed. But as the second act begins, it
becomes involving till the very end.
The suspense in the third
act in the woods is masterful, perhaps one of the most nerve-wrecking
experiences from Shyamalan, rivaling that of the entire basement sequence in Signs. There is a twist in the film,
which to some is the final nail in the director’s coffin. For me, it is nothing
more than a revelation. Speaking of revelations, James Newton Howard’s
revelatory music, one of the most refined and delicate of scores ever, tragically
did not win the Oscar.
Verdict: Infused with Shyamalan's unique visual style and moments of
white-knuckle suspense, this is a flawed yet decent effort.
GRADE: B
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