Is The Village really that bad?
Published July 31, 2004
I was reminded of two films which I consider superior to The Village, including the 1988 New Zealand import The Navigator and an obscure 1983 horror/western Eyes of Fire. Both films are period pieces, where village residents must battle oppressive forces of nature. In The Navigator, medieval town residents are trying to survive the Bubonic Plague, and go on a quest in search of a cure. In Eyes of Fire, pioneers are trapped in a valley and molested by evil spirits of the forest. Both films detail a symbolic journey in which the protagonists must battle unseen forces of nature. The Navigator had similar plot devices, but the contrasting elements came together with great finesse, and the conclusion far more satisfying. Eyes of Fire, one of the creepiest films you've never heard of, had a nightmarish resolution suitable for its subject matter. With The Village, there's a good chance viewers will feel manipulated when the end credits begin to roll.
Since exploding on the scene in 1999 with the brilliant ghost story The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan has carved out a nice career for himself. Unbreakable, Signs and now The Village continues his trend of thoughtful supernatural thrillers. His films are marked by a unique sense of mood and Alfred Hitchcock subtlety, going against the grain of the Hollywood product. I suppose it's time we applaud Shyamalan, a talented filmmaker with trademark refinement. Where he stands in the pantheon of great directors is open to debate, residing somewhere between John Carpenter and David Cronenberg. I don't think he's reached the level of those directors just yet, but he has the talent to eventually do so.
Noted film critic Roger Ebert has panned The Village, and I feel unjustly so. Taken at face value, perhaps the film is unbelievable. But I think Shyamalan was attempting to create a fairy tale, with Ivy Walker serving as a sort of retro Little Red Riding Hood. One could find other analogies, with the isolation of the Branch Davidians and the superstitions of colonial Salem, Massachusetts coming to mind. This film is also boosted by an extraordinary, dream-like atmosphere. Had this been an obscure foreign film playing at the local art house, critics and fans would have hailed its vision.
I think The Village is Shyamalan's best work since The Sixth Sense, but he has yet to equal the success of that near-classic film. What your expectations are will have much to do with your enjoyment of this brooding drama.
- Is The Village really that bad?
- Published: July 31, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Drama, Video: Horror, Video: Suspense and Mystery, Video: Thriller
- Writer: Chris Kent
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Thanks El Senor Duke. I raced to this movie the day it opened because I did not want to hear about the "surprises" beforehand.
My review does not give away any surprises. It's an interesting film worth a bit of discussion. It was much better than I expected.....
Ebert's review was spot-on: this was one of the worst, most disappointing movies I've seen in a LONG time. Terrible dialogue, stiff acting from all but a couple (Howard is amazing, despite the lameness of the movie itsel,) a plot so full of holes it was hardly a plot at all, and a twist so ridiculously stupid that it pretty much ruins the rest of the movie.
Tom, I disagree.
For me, it was not anywhere near the worst film I have seen in a long time. While I was disappointed with several aspects of the film, I still found it's creation of the hidden village to be fascinating. The dialogue was excellent, if a bit stilted due to the refinements of the odd society these residents were living in. I thought the acting was uniformly good (especially Howard, Phoenix and Hurt), though perhaps the actors should have been given more to do. It is a very passive film, but the atmosphere worked for me and I enjoyed how quiet this film was.
The twist was disappointing, but I was not as angry as you. I would have loved to see monsters, though the monsters I imagined were far more terrifying than anything the film could have created. Taken as a fairy tale, the story works, and what fairy tale DOESN'T have plot holes?
The Village was a fascinating mood piece and I enjoyed it immensely, mainly because I was NEVER sure what was going to happen next, and for me that is usually rare in a film. The twist bothered me a little, but the buildup to the twist was creative and suspenseful. This film was superior to Signs in many ways.....just not as good as The Sixth Sense.
This was an absolutely HORRIBLE movie. Wtf was Shayamalan THINKING? He makes two great movies -- and then this stupid horse$hit? Please. I give it 1 star. TERRIBLY cheesy, pedestrian film that reminded me of a cheap porn flick at times.
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chris, i really look forward to reading this, but it aint out in The Northern Ireland til a little later in the month, and i wanna go in as fresh as possible (even though i DID follow all those rumours about the "twist" a few months ago, which i really hope weren't true, cause A - it means i know the ending, and B - it sucked)
But i'll comment on the actual text soon, hopefully