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The Village
M. Night Shyamalan, master of cinematic trickery and sleight of hand plot twists, returns to the big screen with his much anticipated film The Village. Writing a review for a Shyamalan film is a tedious exercise. I want to give the reader enough information about the film to intrigue the reader without overstepping the boundaries and revealing anything that would ruin the twist that audiences have come to expect from Mr. Shyamalan. With that being said, I will commence.
The film opens on a 19th century village. The village is surrounded by enormous forests. The audience learns quickly that there are creatures in the forests, referred to by the residents as “Those we don’t speak of”. The villagers and the creatures have come to an understanding, if you will: if the villagers do not enter the forests, the creatures will not bother them. The color red is thought to provoke them, so the wearing of red is forbidden and any red flowers or berries that sprout from the ground is quickly buried. The color yellow is thought to relay to the creatures that the villagers intend them no harm so the color yellow is a common color in clothing and other items throughout the village.
The audience is introduced to Lucius, played by Joaquin Phoenix. He would like to pass through the forest to retrieve medicine for an ailing resident. The nearby but never seen towns are thought to have potions that will cure illnesses but residents fear they will never make it through the forest without being attacked by the creatures and killed and therefore stirring the wrath of the creatures that will then kill the entire village. Lucius does hold the record for standing with his back toward the forest for the longest, an exercise that shows bravery or exposes cowardice for the young boys and men that participate in this game.
Enter Ivy, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. Ivy is a blind girl that is brave and bold beyond her disability. She has befriended Noah, played by Adrien Brody. Noah is mentally challenged member of the community and Ivy is patient with him, when others are not. Noah feels closer to Ivy than any other member of the community.
Through many plot twists and turns, Ivy and Lucius develop a close relationship. This blossoming relationship does not sit well with Noah. The relationship between Ivy, Lucius and Noah and the impending quest for medication provides just the beginning of the twists and turns that the audience will experience in telling the story of The Village.
At this point, I feel that if I reveal anything more about The Village it will ruin the experience of seeing this film.
In a recent interview with M. Night Shyamalan (attended by Cingeek at http://www.cinegeek.com/features/the_village.htm), he said that The Village is “a love story, although a sick and twisted one”. He also said that the film was a fragile “house of cards”. I would agree with those quotes wholeheartedly after viewing the film. It takes a master filmmaker to be able to pull off the cinematic trickery M. Night Shyamalan has shown to his film audiences. In this category, he towers over his filmmaking peers.
Joaquin Phoenix and William Hurt turn in powerful performances. I found the performance by Adrien Brody to be slightly overwrought but for the most part as strong as the other leads. Sigourney Weaver is good in her role although she is not given much to do in this film. Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Ron Howard, reveals herself to be a skilled actor with a luminous presence onscreen. Her background is primarily stage work but is a great screen actor with a promising future.
The score for The Village is string heavy and just the right amount melancholy and sparse to accompany the story respectfully. The cinematography by Roger Deakins is absolutely breathtaking. It is as if each frame of this movie was delicately “painted” with light, much like an artist with a brush working on a portrait.
To enjoy The Village, the viewer must not continually try to pry open the box of secrets from the first frame until the last. The viewer must let M. Night take your hand and guide you gently through the story. This was my mindset when I entered the theater and it helped immensely in the enjoyment the film. On the other hand, quite a few of my friends are of the sort that do not “suspend disbelief” when watching films and are always trying to impress themselves and others with how quickly than can figure out the ending of a film. If you walk into a theater with this mindset, you will not enjoy this film or hardly any other film in my opinion. I have argued this point with my friends to no avail. I am just glad their “cinematic disease” cannot be caught by merely finding yourself sitting next to them in a darkened theater.
Although The Village will not take the place of Unbreakable as my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film, I enjoyed the film greatly. M. Night Shyamalan is a filmmaker that is willing to take chances, a rare quality in many filmmakers and major movie studios today. If only for that, The Village should be celebrated by movie audiences and fellow filmmakers alike.
8/10
-Suzie Lackey |
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The Village
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver
Review: 9/10
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