Le Village

As with M.Night's other movies, I enjoyed this latest outing, especially the performances of the leads. I think the movie suffered in overall response due to a poorly conceived marketing plan.

The movie was sold as a horror film and fans of that genre went into this with that mindset in place. When the film actually turned out to be a look at how we try and protect those we love from the horrors of the "real world", fans were upset and rightly so. As anyone that has enjoyed M.Night's movies, all is not what it would seem. I think the marketing pushed too hard the horror aspect which created an expectation that was not going to be met.

I think if you go into this movie expecting another commentary on spiritual and moral themes, you are going to like this. If you are going into this for the scare factor, you are going to be left empty.

I went to see M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" today.

First things first... I won't even discuss a SINGLE aspect of the plot, here, so you can read this safely. I will say this: If you plan to see the movie, do not read a single review (besides mine!). As with most of Shyamalan's films, the less you know about the plot going in, the better.

As far as the quality of the film... it is solid. Beautifully directed, well acted, dramatic, scary, sometimes funny, and with some great plot twists. It is not as good as "The Sixth Sense", but it's probably not fair to keep comparing Shyamalan's work to his first big hit, one of the best psychological horror films ever made. A director could work his entire career and never make a SINGLE film as good as "The Sixth Sense", let alone recapture that movie's amazing brilliance.

But, I hear you asking, is "The Village" better than "Unbreakable" and "Signs" (Shyamalan's second and third films)??? Well, that depends on what you thought of those films. Personally, I'd probably say that it is a better film than those two. At the very least it is more sophisticated, with stronger themes, a much bigger and better cast, and more subtle surprises than in those two films.

"The Village" continues Shyamalan's pattern of there being twists in the plot, but this time there are SEVERAL of them and they occur sporadically throughout the film... not one big one at the end. You WILL be surprised by the film, but don't expect to be bowled over.

I would describe this as his most subtle film, and also as more of a character study than a horror film. The characters here are very rich, and their interactions and relationships with one another are very rewarding in big and small ways. The acting is phenomenal, most noticeably by Academy Award winner Adrian Brody and Joaquin Phoenix. But first time actress Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter), William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver all give solid performances as well.

"The Village" is a character study of how a community and individuals respond under pressure and fear. And while it has elements of horror, I'm not even sure I would describe it as a horror film.

But don't get me wrong, there are some real scary moments in the film... just don't go in expecting a roller coaster ride. While I was watching it, I kept thinking about some of the better episodes of The Twilight Zone that had a few thrills but left you thinking about human nature more than anything.

Go see "The Village", but bring someone with you.

I will not go into details about the plot of the movie, or how good or bad the movie was. What i would like to tell is how good i felt that evening as i went to bed. As I was resting my head on my pillow, i felt extremely good about humanity. My heart and mind were filled with hope about the future. That is what the movie did to me. In am writing this 10 years after seeing the movie, and i can still recall with clarity how i felt that evening in bed. Hence, the movie gets a 10 from this reviewer.

I disagree with other commenter. the ending twist was not obvious. I found this to be a thoughtful, deep movie with effective dialogue. I had to give Shamalan props as the result was not the typical Hollywood plot. If you go into watching it wanting a horror action movie, you will be disappointed. However, if you go into it with an open mind and like drama/suspense with a good premise, this is a very nice movie! The camera work was effective. Adrian Brody plays a good role albeit not a large one. Rating the Shamalan movies, I'd say The Village was second only to Sixth Sense. It was better than both Signs and Unbreakable. Definitely turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

I read somewhere that The Village was M. Night Shyamalan's best and most underrated movie. I wouldn't agree with that as The Sixth Sense was his best to me. But that's my opinion. The Village is entertaining though, like most of his movies, with the right amount of suspense. The cast is great as well, all top class actors and actresses so bad acting isn't present in this movie. To be honest this is my second viewing of this movie, and I liked it more the first time but that's just because of the element of surprise that plays a big role in his movies. It's a good movie for a first time viewing.