The Village Review
by Bob Bloom (bob AT bloomink DOT com)August 2nd, 2004
THE VILLAGE (2004) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Cherry
Jones, Celia Weston and Judy Greer. Music by James Newton Howard. Featured violinist Hilary Hahn. Director of photography Roger Deakins. Producton designer
Tom Foden. Written, produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Rated PG-13. Running time: Approx. 120 mins.
Those going into M. Night Shyamalan's The Village with preconceived notions are
going to exit feeling disappointed, angry or frustrated. Or you may just nod your
head and say, of course.
The movie centers on escape, denial and perception or reality. But you will have to
sit for two hours to see how they fit into Shyamalan's pay off.
And that is where the filmmaker and his audience may part ways.
As a filmmaker Shyamalan is akin to Alfred Hitchcock when it comes to manipulating
the emotions and expectations of the viewer, which he does superbly in The Village.
The writer-director entices you with clues and hints, but he also feints and bobs,
trying to throw you off at the same time he is advancing his story.
It is a delicate balancing act, and Shyamalan rarely stumbles.
With the help of his production designer, Tom Foden, and his director of photography, Roger Deakins, Shyamalan has created a self-contained world, a pastoral setting that seems idyllic. Yet you know something is askew, a bit off-kilter,
but you cannot place your finger exactly on what it is.
Also helping to create the mood is James Newton Howard's score, backed by the
haunting violin of Hilary Hahn, which on the surface creates a mood of serenity, but
with undertones of an undefined menace.
Alert filmgoers will decipher Shyamalan's clues and begin piecing together the
outcome. But the movie's question isn't so much a when as a where.
For to make the movie work, the director has counted on certain audience reactions and expectations. And when he gets them, he then uses sleight-of-hand to
again make viewers doubt their conclusions.
Some people undoubtedly are going to feel cheated by the ending simply because
they have come to expect certain things from Shyamalan.
What they forget is that this is a very individualistic artist who refuses to repeat
himself. His twofold objective is to tell his story while keeping the audience
off-balance, so they don't know for sure what's around the next corner.
The movie is very stylized, not only in set and costume, but in dialogue. The actors
talk in a very formal, archaic manner, which also is meant to further confound the
audience as to time and place.
As for the animals in the woods with which the villagers have struck an uneasy truce,
well, you only catch glimpses of them. You are not sure exactly what they are nor
what purpose they serve.
The standout among the strong cast is newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard as Ivy, the
blind older daughter of village elder Edward Walker (William Hurt). Howard, the
daughter of director Ron Howard, is luminous and ethereal. She is almost unearthly,
which also adds another piece to this cinematic jigsaw.
Hurt gives his most measured performance in a long time, while Joaquin Phoenix
brings a quiet strength to his Lucius Hunt, the young man who wants to brave the
woods surrounding the village in order to help his community.
The Village will stir debate as people will either strongly defend or defame it. But no
one will be able to deny Shyamalan's magician-like talent with a story. Like a good
illusionist, he diverts your attention in one direction, then performs his wizardry
while your not looking.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be
reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com or at the Internet Movie Database Web site:
www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
