Quick Rating: **
 
 
 
I was pumped up to see this movie.  I loved M. Night's previous 3 films, and was awaiting this one eagerly.  I purposely avoided any reviews/articles/conversations about the film before I saw it, so as not to have any preconceptions (or ideas about a possible twist).  Having said that, and believing that surprise endings should not be given away, I must tip toe around the story in this film, so I won't ruin it for anyone else.

But honestly, it was ruined for me.  M. Night disappointed me with this film.  I'll get back to that.
 
The movie is about a small village that is surrounded by the woods.  Everyone leads a happy life, and all are friendly toward each other.  It's sort of a utopia.  Except that there are creatures that live in the woods.  And apparently, the elders of the town made a pact with these creature for them to stay in the woods, and the people will stay in the village, and they'll each keep to themselves.  However, someone needs medicine from the outside towns, and the line is crossed.
 
M. Night is a great director, and there is some brilliant work here.  The pace is a little slow (as are all his movies), but the characters were interesting, and well-acted (even though they had awkward 1890's language to work through).  Joaquin Pheonix, Bryce Dallas Howard (Ivy), and Adrien Brody (Noah) all do stupendous jobs.  There's not much in the way of scares, and the movie is not a horror film, although one would get that impression from the trailers.  The movie is beautifully shot.  The village looks great.  The colors are vibrant.  The woods are scary.  I like the way the movie looked.
 
What didn't I like, you ask?  Why was I disappointed.  Well, I immersed myself into the story, even though it is slow-moving, and I gave my time and my emotions to the characters and their situations.  And I knew that this would pay off in the end.  But it didn't.  The audience is given important information earlier than usual (for a Shymalan film), and it affects the action after that point.  There's no suspence in one scene that M. Night really forces the suspence on you (in the woods with Ivy).  It's just not there.  We know what's going on, and it doesn't scare us... or even interest us much.  And then there's another revelation, and it's just thrown in front of us, and it's rubbed in our face, and we're forced to stare at it a little longer....  I don't know, it was just ...  Argh.  I just feel unfulfilled by the ending.  The movie went on for too long, and I thought it would be worth it - but it wasn't.  There was no scene where I felt "Wow"... where something meaningful or shocking or interesting happened to make the rest of the movie worthwhile.  And the movie does not hold up to scrutinization afterwards, like the Sixth Sense does upon 2nd and 3rd viewings.  People act with no motives, and some subplots don't get resolved (the Hurt/Weaver love thing, Lucius's color?)
 
I understand the point he was trying to make, and I understand the parallels between the story and today's world, and it's a good premise, an interesting idea - it just wasn't executed well.  I was left with a bad taste in my mouth when I left the theater.  I just hope that Mr. Shymalan can return to his earlier brilliance, and not insult his audience as much as he does with The Village.
 
 


 
 

Quality: 3.5  Visuals: 7.0  Intensity: 3.5 
OVERALL RATING: 4.7