The Village
Who can forget The Sixth Sense? If you haven't seen it, for heaven's sake stop reading this review, rent it and watch (I give away the twist in the following sentences). This was Shyamalan's masterpiece - and it's all been downhill from there. It's not so bad being a one-trick pony, as Shyamalan clearly is, as long as it's a good trick. The revelation that Bruce Willis was a ghost in The Sixth Sense was a shock. Shyamalan had drawn everyone along the path extremely well. The secret of the movie was kept faithfully by the hordes that went to see it.
This triumph was followed by Unbreakable, also starring Bruce Willis. This time the twist was not that Bruce was the 'unbreakable' superhero, but the 'Mr Glass' was the arch-villain. Ok, so I'm a trusting soul, and went along and put myself in Shyamalan's hands yet again. He surprised me again and I came out thinking it was a cool ending.
The same couldn't be said of Signs, his effort with Mel Gibson in the lead role. Forget the fact that Gibson doesn't have the brooding coolness of Willis. The problem was that the twist never came - or perhaps I'd come to know Shyamalan's method too well. The paranormal is real in his world.
That's why I didn't bother to see The Village in theatres - I knew what to expect. I was wrong. Shyamalan fooled me into staying away. Though the plot is thin, the principal characters - Bryce Dallas Howard's Ivy Walker, and Joaquin Phoenix's Lucius Hunt - drew me in on finally watching the film. Unfortunately, the older cast members - William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, et al. - were thin, by design.
The plot: Ivy Walker and Lucius Hunt live in a rual village in what could be Pennsylvania of the 1850s - their language is similarly simple and fitting for such a time. Situated in a valley, the village is surrounded by forest. This forest, the elders say, is inhabited by "those we do not speak of". These creatures are large, scary beasts wearing cloaks of red - the forbidden colour. There has been a truce for many years and both sides have refrained from trespassing on the other's territory. Then, all of a sudden, strange things start to happen. Apparently, the creatures have decided to invade the town. When you couple this with the elders all possessing locked boxes and rooms, the contents of which they will not discuss and all having stories of loved ones who suffered horrible deaths at the hands of others, you have another supernatural tale in the telling.
All the events relating to this supernatural world are swirling around two young people in love - Ivy Walker and Lucius Hunt. Ivy is blind, but can see a colour surrounding people - their aura, though this word is never used. Lucius is a remarkably stoic character, in love with Ivy though never daring to tell her so. They do, however, finally get together once Ivy's sister is married and she can receive suitors. Then there's the third wheel - Adrien Brody's developmentally challenged Noah Percy. Ostensibly in his late teens or early twenties, Noah has the mind of a child.
Lurking behind this pleasant village atmosphere is the ever-present threat of 'those we do not speak of'. We learn at the beginning of the story that the son of one of the elders has died. The idea that he might have lived had someone been able to travel through the forest to 'the towns' is presented and firmly held by Lucius, who was a firm friend of the deceased. He bravely asks to be allowed to go on a couple of occasions. The elders refuse him permission. But when his life hangs in the balance, Ivy gets approval to try to save his life by trying to retrieve medicine from 'the towns'.
In Summary: I won't give the ending away, as this is always the key to Shyamalan's films. Moreover, he places so much emphasis at that point that one can rarely get any joy from watching them a second time. The Sixth Sense achieved a two-viewing requirement only because there was the need to see if you could figure out where all the clues were that Bruce was a ghost. The others, and especially The Village, have no such quality. Still, his latest effort marks a clear departure for Shyamalan. He is making a transition from a reliance on the twist ending to more developed characterisations.
The Casablanca comparison: While it was genuinely a twist that Rick sent Ilsa off with Victor on the plane to Lisbon, then heading off with Louis to fight with the resistance and to begin a 'beautiful friendship', this was only a part of what made Casablanca great. Would it still have been great if Rick had kept Ilsa with him in Casablanca and sent Victor off alone? I think so, but clearly it would have suffered. We would still have had Bogart, Claude Rains, Ingrid Bergman and some great dialogue. Dooley Wilson (Sam) would still have been singing As Time Goes By. Can The Village stand on its own without a twist ending? Shyamalan should have thought of this. I think it could have.
The Rating: I give this a 7 out of 10, genuinely liking it much more than I thought I would. See it for Bryce Dallas Howard - she's fantastic as Ivy Walker. Joaquin Phoenix plays a solid Lucius Hunt. Williams Hurt is pretty good too, if predictable.
This triumph was followed by Unbreakable, also starring Bruce Willis. This time the twist was not that Bruce was the 'unbreakable' superhero, but the 'Mr Glass' was the arch-villain. Ok, so I'm a trusting soul, and went along and put myself in Shyamalan's hands yet again. He surprised me again and I came out thinking it was a cool ending.
The same couldn't be said of Signs, his effort with Mel Gibson in the lead role. Forget the fact that Gibson doesn't have the brooding coolness of Willis. The problem was that the twist never came - or perhaps I'd come to know Shyamalan's method too well. The paranormal is real in his world.
That's why I didn't bother to see The Village in theatres - I knew what to expect. I was wrong. Shyamalan fooled me into staying away. Though the plot is thin, the principal characters - Bryce Dallas Howard's Ivy Walker, and Joaquin Phoenix's Lucius Hunt - drew me in on finally watching the film. Unfortunately, the older cast members - William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, et al. - were thin, by design.
The plot: Ivy Walker and Lucius Hunt live in a rual village in what could be Pennsylvania of the 1850s - their language is similarly simple and fitting for such a time. Situated in a valley, the village is surrounded by forest. This forest, the elders say, is inhabited by "those we do not speak of". These creatures are large, scary beasts wearing cloaks of red - the forbidden colour. There has been a truce for many years and both sides have refrained from trespassing on the other's territory. Then, all of a sudden, strange things start to happen. Apparently, the creatures have decided to invade the town. When you couple this with the elders all possessing locked boxes and rooms, the contents of which they will not discuss and all having stories of loved ones who suffered horrible deaths at the hands of others, you have another supernatural tale in the telling.
All the events relating to this supernatural world are swirling around two young people in love - Ivy Walker and Lucius Hunt. Ivy is blind, but can see a colour surrounding people - their aura, though this word is never used. Lucius is a remarkably stoic character, in love with Ivy though never daring to tell her so. They do, however, finally get together once Ivy's sister is married and she can receive suitors. Then there's the third wheel - Adrien Brody's developmentally challenged Noah Percy. Ostensibly in his late teens or early twenties, Noah has the mind of a child.
Lurking behind this pleasant village atmosphere is the ever-present threat of 'those we do not speak of'. We learn at the beginning of the story that the son of one of the elders has died. The idea that he might have lived had someone been able to travel through the forest to 'the towns' is presented and firmly held by Lucius, who was a firm friend of the deceased. He bravely asks to be allowed to go on a couple of occasions. The elders refuse him permission. But when his life hangs in the balance, Ivy gets approval to try to save his life by trying to retrieve medicine from 'the towns'.
In Summary: I won't give the ending away, as this is always the key to Shyamalan's films. Moreover, he places so much emphasis at that point that one can rarely get any joy from watching them a second time. The Sixth Sense achieved a two-viewing requirement only because there was the need to see if you could figure out where all the clues were that Bruce was a ghost. The others, and especially The Village, have no such quality. Still, his latest effort marks a clear departure for Shyamalan. He is making a transition from a reliance on the twist ending to more developed characterisations.
The Casablanca comparison: While it was genuinely a twist that Rick sent Ilsa off with Victor on the plane to Lisbon, then heading off with Louis to fight with the resistance and to begin a 'beautiful friendship', this was only a part of what made Casablanca great. Would it still have been great if Rick had kept Ilsa with him in Casablanca and sent Victor off alone? I think so, but clearly it would have suffered. We would still have had Bogart, Claude Rains, Ingrid Bergman and some great dialogue. Dooley Wilson (Sam) would still have been singing As Time Goes By. Can The Village stand on its own without a twist ending? Shyamalan should have thought of this. I think it could have.
The Rating: I give this a 7 out of 10, genuinely liking it much more than I thought I would. See it for Bryce Dallas Howard - she's fantastic as Ivy Walker. Joaquin Phoenix plays a solid Lucius Hunt. Williams Hurt is pretty good too, if predictable.
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