parable on love

Rating: 7/10 (15 November 2008)

Director Shyamalan is the most Christian of all popular directors working in Hollywod, and the most thoughtfully Christian in Hollywod's history. Even though I'm not a Christian, I respect his thoughtfulness and faith.
This not a horror film but a kind of post-modern "Pilgrim's Progress" parable. The difficult question of the film is not "what is happening?" but rather, why are the lead characters innocent enough to survive it? And the answer is rather odd and rather bold. Although recently married, they are still in the process of 'falling in love.' That's important because in a truly Christian universe, love is a practice, not a feeling. "Feeling" love or "being in love" does not redeem, only the active process of it.
Is Shyamalan successful in portraying this? No; and the effort to do so actually requires considerable maturity, more than Shyamalan has right now. By the time John Ford was able it pull it off in "the Quiet man," he had some 25 years film-making experience, and had lived an adventurous life.
But I am willing to give Shyamalan points for effort here. Constructing a parable of this sort in this time and place took considerable nerve. Hopefully the commercial failure of this film will not deter him from continuing to take such risks. Thoughtful films are hard to come by these days.
So it's an admittedly weak film - parables lend themselves to beautiful visuals, but not to great acting, and the best dialog is on the theme and not the plot. But its reputation will grow in time, as Shyamalan's reputation grows and his handling of such themes matures.
Oh, a last word - on the violence depicted in the film. It actually has to be taken with a tablespoon of salt. Much of it involves a student filmmaker's conceit, indicating Shyamalan is still concerned with learning his craft. But, to put it bluntly, much of the violent acts are insiders' jokes - 'it's raining construction workers,' get it? and the guy feeding his arm to the lions is a nod back to - Monty Python. Further indication that we are dealing with a parable on a theme rather than a well-constructed plot.
Hopefully in the future, Shyamalan will learn, as John Ford learned, how to marry the two.