The Village | Review

In Bush times and terrorist alerts, Shyamalan flies political message under the radar.

It looks like Touchstone Pictures might actually bank some money this year, not because of the success of M. Night Shyamalan’s newest feature but because of the movie theatre policy of not refunding a purchased ticket after the film has ran for at least the first ten minutes.

Clear as water, Shyamalan gives his modern day salute to the great Alfred Hitchcock — not only does he like to make a Where’s Waldo appearance in his films as Hitch once did, but Shyamalan enjoys building up fear with very little at his disposal. The McGuffin was a technique that Hitchcock employed where the viewer and the film’s plot were introduced to something which in fact ended up being nothing. While this could have easily have been called the un-politically correct title of Weapons of Mass Destruction, The Village formerly known as The Woods sees this master of suspense modify his usual fair bringing on a fabled, love story in a very odd location.

The premise sees that there’s a something evil lurking in the dark – but what is it? The Big Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood? Or a figment of imagination? This once utopian society is crumbling, perhaps because of human curiosity or the constant spreading of secrets, but who has time to question rational thinking when the forest in which this small little village is surrounded by starts to close in. Joaquin Phoenix (Signs) plays the person who respects the forest the most but fears it the least. His heart belongs to a redhead, tomboy named Ivy played by Bryce Dallas Howard. It takes a couple of seconds to figure out that she is blind without the usual blind walk and flickering eyeballs but it takes very little to guess that the two ought to be together. When the village idiot played by Adrien Brody (The Pianist) reacts badly to their union then the color red acts more like a “beware – do not trespass” sign rather than an actual motif. It becomes only a matter of time before the town gets painted in cranberry color. Love is indeed blind — the narrative sees an interesting changing of the protagonist lead as the Little House Laura Engels must go past the forbidden woods to fetch medicine. If you pay attention there are clues to what the ending might hold – guessing the final rest stop is not out of reach especially if one zones into some of the spoken dialogue and if one mathematically counts the generation gap of the villagers. Since the final twist at the end makes the movie (or, in this case breaks it), much of this discussion will look at the overall quality of the product.

While other films in the horror-suspense genre rely heavily on the benefits of special effects to throw a scare, Shyamalan does it the old fashion way — by creating the effect through a little dialogue and the idea of fear. Thanks to the recent Blair Witch Project and all the Friday the 13 films – the woods looks like the least inviting place and its amazing what a camera angle can do with a tree branch. Shyamalan sets this one up with a couple of good laughs — perhaps keying the viewer in on the fact that the ending should be taken with a grain of salt. What is synonymous with Shyamalan’s films is his trademark use of edge-of-your-seat tension. While The Village certainly starts off by building up such anxieties, the film seems to deflate itself letting go of its hold on the viewer. The “not knowing” impression which is the thriving aspect from his filmography kind of dies down, succumbing to the growing love story and this break in tension comes is just as disappointing as the sloppily conveyed, anti-climatic and cumbersomely hand-held camera shot fight sequence featured in the woods. The cast do a great job of presenting what the look of fear looks like and first time actress Bryce Dallas Howard delivers a convincing performance and so does underrated actor William Hurt (The Big Chill). Roger Deakins’ masterful cinematography delivers the goods –- aesthetically the film looks great and so do the nifty period costumes – here’s hoping that the yellow hoods are soon made available at The Gap. The variation found in the lighting during different times of day also helps in creating that atmospheric quality which mixes well with the colors found in the isolated village.

While the surprise ending certainly doesn’t boast the fun found in say Hitch’s Psycho, much of the film still film manages to keep the viewer glued – however, nothing close to the impression The Sixth Sense left on audiences. He does dress this one up a little and does fool his audience – but the major issue here is that audiences like to be taken for a ride and not be taken in for a ride. In retrospect, his fan base might want to give credit to where credit’s due — Shyamalan tried something new, something a little different which unfortunately didn’t work – didn’t we think the same thought after Unbreakable?

Rating 2 stars