Untitled Document

Genre: Thriller/Horror
Version Viewed: Japan DVD Rental
English Level: Intermediate
Kid Friendly: Scary scenes

+
Good direction
Decent performances

-
Terrible, abrupt ending
Blind character seems like she sometimes can see
Ending twist of the movie is not satisfying

All I gotta say is...
The Village - big budget - bad ending = The Blair Witch Project

What's it about?

People from a small isolated village have a truce with mysterious creatures who live in the nearby forest stating that the creatures will not come into the village as long as the villagers stay out of the forest. When a young man (Joaquin Phoenix) wants to venture through the forest to the larger "towns" for some medicine, the creatures get angry and leave warnings around the village reminding them to stay out of the forest. Joaquin is brave enough to go despite the warnings, but what who will they send when he is injured and needs medicine badly himself?

Best Performance
Joaquin Phoenix - delivers awkward lines from the script well

Disappointing Performance
William Hurt - robotic at times

Recommended for...
Die hard M. Night Shyamalan fans or people preparing to see Scary Movie 4.

My Thoughts

The story sounds simple enough but as in all of Shyamalan's movies, you know there will be some kind of big secret revealed at the end. You may try to guess the secret in this movie but I can guarantee you that it won't be as satisfying as it was in his earlier films (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable). His direction is very good with good use of slow zooms and pans. The performances, for the most part, are above average with Joaquin Phoenix being the best. William Hurt as the town leader, Sigourney Weaver as Joaquin's mom, and Adrien Brody as the mentally challenged member of the village are all solid in their roles. Newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard is great at times in her role as the blind love interest of Phoenix's but she appeared to have really good sight at other times. The music, which was great in it's own right, sounded like something from an epic like Lord of the Rings, but hardly fitting for the much less worthy Village. In a different twist from Shyamalan's earlier movies, you will learn the secret well before the movie is over. I was so unsure of the point of this movie that I was really surprised when it ended; not from the twist but out of confusion. It seemed like there was supposed to be more but maybe I was missing something. There is a lot of symbolism so if you're looking for the greater message, you may enjoy this movie. For simple people like me, it was a below average thriller with decent performances from a good cast. I'm looking forward to Scary Movie 4 which hopefully makes fun of this weak flick.

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