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omarenvy

By omarenvy
in Miami

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vaughanz Newbie

vaughanz

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Posted

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SOoooooooooooooooooo.....

(see my keyboard sticks too)

I went to the movies this weekend and saw "The Village"... here's my review:

Another year, another M. Night Shyamalan film, another surprise ending.

Shyamalan, who has etched out one of the more unique careers of modern Hollywood directors, has taken this industry by storm with such noteworthy, atmospheric entries as “The Sixth Sense,†“Unbreakable†and “Signs.†“The Village†is easily the most difficult of his films to summarize or discuss and, depending on one’s perception of the film, it either reflects a filmmaker intent on expanding his horizons or a director falling into the same pit of mistakes that has hindered his other work. The basic premise is all that can be discussed here. As anyone who has seen Shyamalan’s work knows, it is in their unfolding that his films take on a life of their own and I would be remiss to give away any more than necessary.

The film is about a village that seems to exist in the late 19 th century, inhabited by people who lead a far simpler life than we know today. They live without technology or automation, spending their days enjoying each other’s company and sharing their collective joy and sorrow. However, beyond their homes and gardens is a foreboding forest that echoes with strange noises, home to what the locals have termed “Those We Don’t Speak Of.†Naturally, any movie that refers to something or someone as “those we don’t speak of†leaves the audience fixated on “those we want to learn more about,†and in a series of nightly encounters, strange clawed figures draped in red garments enter the town and send panic through the community. The village’s elders are concerned and confused. For years the village has peacefully coexisted with Those We Don’t Speak Of, and so long as the village’s citizens did not cross into the woods, the red figures would not enter the town. But just as Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) discusses entering the woods to retrieve medicines from nearby towns that could have helped a deceased friend, the red figures reappear and all talk of leaving the town is hushed in favor of protection and preservation.

As most fans of Shyamalan’s work will guess, there is a surprise to the story that reveals itself in “Village’s†third act. And even those unfamiliar with his earlier stories or twists will quickly see something important looming in the horizon. The bleak state of the film’s characters, the constant foreshadowing of what is to come and the obsessive focus of every conversation and action on the mysterious figures of the woods all place considerable emphasis on the third act and, much like any “Twilight Zone†episode or Hitchcock thriller, it is the strength of this final surprise that, for many, will establish “The Village†as a success or a failure.

Many critics have harshly criticized “The Village†explicitly due to the weakness they saw in this surprise. They felt the ending was a letdown, and that it diminished all that had come prior. And, if we’re talking about a straight horror film, they would be right. “The Village†is not a good thriller. It is, however, a surprisingly provocative and mind-bending discussion of social issues and ethics – a movie that takes a u-turn and the goes off road to end with a discussion far different from the one that opened the film. Given this disconnect, I’m not sure what to think. On the one hand, everything in the movie feels contrived given that the ending runs counter to the mold that so much time and effort has gone into shaping. The performances, from the love-struck, but restless Joaquin Phoenix to the pensive and fearful Sigourney Weaver, prove to be for naught and the mood that Shyamalan creates through his use of mist, colors, sounds, claustrophobia and darkness ends up being more ironic that scary. Yet at the same time, I must admit that I was always intrigued by this movie and, despite the weakness of the film’s revelation, I was fascinated by the final destination that Shyamalan had in mind.

I only hope this marks a deviation for the director rather than a continuation. In “Sixth Sense,†and somewhat in “Unbreakable,†the film’s twist felt organic and emerged as a compliment to the story, giving it another layer and another meaning. But in “Signs†and here in “The Village,†it feels more arbitrary – raining down on this world from beyond it, taking the story places we never could have seen or predicted.

In these last two it feels more like a crutch than the first two, and even though I like the way Shyamalan toys with our expectations this time around, it is only a matter of time before even I become annoyed with being jerked around.

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