The Village (DVD, 2005, Widescreen)

See, I'm looking over the M. Night Shyamalan balance sheet of his works and the unfortunate "Lady in the Water" might have put him in the red. However, "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs" were good enough to override some of the stinkers and put him in the black if I use a weighted average.

That leaves the question, where does "The Village" fit into the Shyamalan package? Did it have enough redeeming qualities to help nudge the current P & L statement to healthy accounting standards? Is it a Shyma-lama-ding-dong or a nutrition bar? I'm not really sure.

It is the legendary M. Night Shymalan who has his own mystique and finely honed creativity. His films reflect an original voice and an intense effort at quality. "The Village" does convey this. It gets a couple of digits on the black side.

On the other hand, Shymalan has trained us to look for "the twist," the one he pulled off so spectacularly with "The Sixth Sense." I figured out the twist for "The Village" during the theatrical trailers. I was correct and I suspect a lot of other people were, too. "The twist" was too transparent, a couple of digits for the red side.

However, the film did have an interesting tone and feeling of impending menace. It builds on the theme of a village living as uneasy neighbors to some touchy creatures in the surrounding forest. The villagers have developed a very peaceful, civilized way of life mitigated only by the fear of doing something that might provoke the monsters to attack. The fear is palpable and works on that level. A couple more for the black side.

But....the characters, oy, the characters. The blind Ivy Walker played by Bryce Dallas Howard is the only one that you can connect to as a well-rounded character. She has a liveliness and intelligence that almost makes up for the rest. The other villagers, particularly William Hurt as her father and Joaquin Phoenix as the object of her affections, are cartoonishly stiff and talk with the ridiculous affections of a bad 1950's Bible flic. This really grates, several digits to the red side.

Several things don't add up:
(1) There is no good reason when you know the ending and the explaining particulars, why the village wasn't better stocked with medicine. You'd think the doctor would have ensured that;
(2) Why send the BLIND Ivy to get the medicine when several of the elders could have done it? This was unbelievably absurd; we know she is resourceful and brave, but come on. Relying on a blind girl on a mission like this where her speed is a factor in whether someone survives doesn't make a lick of sense;
(3) And then there is the scene where they lock up an individual they discover is dangerously psychotic by putting him on what amounts to the naughty chair in a room with several easy ways to get out. Were they waiting for Supernanny Jo Frost to deal with him? More red digits.

The most interesting part of the movie are the psychological undercurrents in the village that expose their vulnerability. People will be people; there's always a destructive element that creates unnecessary pain for the rest in spite of their best efforts. Some black digits.

If you're a Shymalan fan, this is a set completer, not so good but keeps the collection going. I'd give this a 2.5, maybe 3.0 with the above positive points considered. But, essentially, it's a Shyma-lama-ding-dong.

The Village is surprising on two levels-- one, the unexpected twist that M. Night Shyamalan always seems to provide (making it an expected unexpected twist?), and secondly, in its seeming appearance as a suspense. The Village is in fact more of a love story, a story of community, and courage, interwoven with moments of trepidation and suspense. With an all-star cast, and a wonderful break-through performance from Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of renowned director Ron Howard), The Village is entertaining, mysterious, joyous and heart wrenching. Joaquin Phoenix is quiet and strong and brilliant. Adrian Brody makes you want to laugh and cry, and William Hurt's passion is infectious as the village's leader. Give The Village a chance, and you won't be disappointed.

I really enjoyed this movie. Very intriguing. I thought movie was set in the early 1900's. Very good story. One of M. Night Shyamalan's best ever. I strongly recommend this drama movie. Joaquin Phoenix is excellent. Adrien Brody does a wonderful supporting role.

I love this film, plain and simple. I think the acting is wonderful all the way around. Night's direction, and vision is amazing to me. The suspense is real, the visual look of the film is fantastic. His homage to "Where the Wild Things Are" is one of my favorite aspects of the movie, as I read that book as a kid, and loved it and it's imagery. I particularly like his practice in this movie of shooting the William Hurt character from behind, I don't know why this interests me so much, but it must be effective, because to me it really stands out. The twist was skillfully concealed, I thought. Even though I knew the nature of the twist before watching, it did not diminish the power. I am very much looking forward to seeing "The Happening", as "Lady In The Water" was a disappointment to me. There are VERY few movies I feel I can watch over again, but this one is definitely in that short list, that is why I decided to buy it.

Know for thrillers with many twists and turns, M. Night Shyamalan creates a community where we do not know the rules. Ron Howard's daughter (Ron was Opie on the Andy Griffith Show years ago), Brice Dallas Howard, plays the leading role as a blind girl in this strange community. A late night thriller, for sure!