The Village (2004) Synopsis:
At first glance this late nineteenth century village seems picture perfect. However, this close-knit community lives with the frightening knowledge that a race of creatures resides in the woods around them. The villagers share the fear of the evil and foreboding force that lurks outside. So frightening that one dare not venture beyond "The Village" and into the woods. Despite the advice of his elders, a curious and determined Lucius Hunt has a burning desire to step beyond the boundaries of the town into the unknown. Town leader, Edward Walker warns Lucius of the danger amongst the town's outskirts, and Lucius' mother, Alice Hunt advises him to stay at home and spare himself of the greed and desires that exist in the outside world. Only Ivy Walker, a beautiful and mesmerizing blind woman with an unusual wisdom beyond her years, matches Lucius' strength. Her fearless nature and gift-like perception are beyond anything Lucius has ever known. Both Lucius and the mischievous Noah Percy admire Ivy passionately, though her heart only has room for one of them. Her devotion eventually leads her down a forbidden path where terrifying truths are revealed. The ominous presence of the unknown boils over into chaos for the town, with one's bravery being the only thing that can save them. The truce between "The Village" and the creatures is ending.
The Village (2004) Movie Review:
Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan has been hailed as Hollywood’s next big filmmaker, with continous comparisons to Steven Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock being mentioned in every article about him. Ever since breaking through in 1999 with his brilliant thriller The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan has had a niche for developing character driven thrillers (2000’s Unbreakable, 2002’s Signs) with a big twist at the end.
Now with all the hype of this filmmaker and Disney desperately needing a hit blockbuster comes his new thriller The Village, which painfully offends audiences’ intelligence and falls flat on its face.
The Village is in fact a love story that perhaps would have worked being more dramatic than a twisted cheap horror thriller. Taking place during the late 1800’s in an isolated Pennsylvania village surrounded by woods, the setting is full of peaceful and hard working people that watch out for one another, dine all at once and love their lives. No one dares to venture out into the woods, for that is where “Those We Do Not Speak Of” reside, which are unseen red cloaked creatures that stay in the woods as long as the villagers stay in their village. In the village, red is considered the “bad color,” so anything (berries, flowers) that arises in the color of red is buried and forgotten. As a safety precaution, the border of the village is cloaked in yellow, which is the color that keeps “Those We Do Not Speak Of” away.
The village committee is led by the town’s elders and has the knowledgeable Edward Walker (William Hurt) as their leader. The committee is interrupted one day by the soft spoken Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix), who is the son of the widowed Alice Walker (Sigourney Weaver). Lucius asks the elders that he may venture through the woods to the towns to gain medicines, in which one villager has just passed away from sickness. Hailed as brave, the elders deny Lucius his wish stating that it is too dangerous and no one should enter into the woods. Edward’s daughter Kitty (Judy Greer) is in love with Lucius, but he will not take her hand in marriage. Lucius is in fact in love with Kitty’s blind younger sister, Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard), whom her father states has instincts unlike any other in the village. A challenged young man that occasionally breaches into the woods named Noah (Adrien Brody) also has feelings for Ivy.
After Lucius ventures off into the woods one day, the town is invaded by “Those We Do Not Speak Of,” with the aftermath being scolded animals and red slashes across each family’s door. Something terrible then happens, and the village is left with the possibility of losing another one of their own. An unlikely choice is then chosen to go to the towns through the woods to bring back the needed medicines, setting up one twist after another as to what are the creatures in the woods.
The atmosphere of the village is vividly captured and Shymalan has some effective shot selections, but that is about it. The built in tension of the film is felt at times, but the first half is so boring and wearied. The anticipated surprises and twists of this film are predictable about half way through and are truly absurd and ludicrous. The formula or steps that Shymalan takes with twisting this film are loose, incomplete, and really cheap. The twist or twists of the film begin with still about 30 minutes left, and you think it can not get any worse, but it really does. The script’s dialogue is flat and at times tries to be too much like the way characters speak in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible or Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Shymalan also relies too heavily on James Newton Howard’s haunting score, which gets the real jumps out of you when it is first heard during the film’s opening credit sequence. Shymalan is an established “thriller- driven” filmmaker, but with The Village he really rips you off.
Overall the majority of the film’s performances are good, but the bright spot of the cast and this film is the breakthrough work of Bryce Dallas Howard as Ivy. Daughter of filmmaker Ron Howard, Howard delivers a superb performance as the blind and determined Ivy. Though she looks around too much in the first act and blinks a little too aggressively for a blind girl, the third act of this film belongs to her; she engulfs you and is the only slight reason to keep you from falling asleep. Joaquin Phoenix is reliable as usual and William Hurt once again very convincingly plays the smartest character in the film. Oscar winner Adrien Brody is also efficient in his role as the challenged Noah Percy. The only disappointing performance in the film is by Sigourney Weaver, who is a great actress, but just seemed to be reciting lines in the film.
Outside of Bryce Dallas Howard there is nothing to recommend about The Village. Everything that is established by Shymalan winds up being preposterous as if he is offering you a cup of gourmet coffee, but once served it is ice cold, unstirred, and without the least bit of flavor.
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The Village (2004) review written by: Bailey Henderson
7th September, 2008 
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