Shyamalan

Rating: 8/10 (30 August 2008)

I don't really want to talk a lot about this movie because I could spoil the effect. Instead, I'll talk about this filmmaker's first movie. THE SIXTH SENSE, also by M. Night Shyamalan. I first saw it in December 1999, on a 20-hour flight from Chicago to Hong Kong. My only flight out of the USA. The film really pulled me in, which I suspect is particularly difficult on an airplane. Then, the ending. Based on the article you just read, we can say that some viewers weren't surprised. Me, I was blown the heck away and wanted to see it again. Years later I finally did. I taught movie classes, this is a film I chose, and I saw it about a dozen times, fully aware of the ending. It had a bit more going for it than that. My only complaint is with people who think Bruce Willis was the star. The star is Haley Joel Osment! I may have missed out on "the surprise ending" because I was watching the kid instead of the shrink. Bruce Willis could probably star in a few more movies after he died and we'd never notice. But I digress. THE VILLAGE is about a pilgrim-style village. Some place quaint, rural, close knit and low tech. Nobody from the village goes into the surrounding woods lest they encounter Those We Do Not Speak Of. The acting was flawless and the scenery most certainly created a mood. Shyamalan is a masterful writer, director and producer. But I had trouble caring about what happened to his characters. That could've been my fault. Saturday morning at 8, Jan was working, and my goal for the day was to pack for our impending move but I was too drained to begin. The neighbor had loaned us this DVD back in February, so I figured watching it and returning it to him was a good start. (The same bad attitude that I brought to THE SIXTH SENSE, right? One of these days I'm going to watch a Shyamalan movie in the right frame of mind.) "The ending." How would you like to be a filmmaker judged solely on "the ending?" In the case of THE VILLAGE, it worked for me. I thought about this film for days after seeing it. Actually, I was trying to decide what to write in this review. How about this? "Shyamalan is a filmmaker of bold originality surviving in a commercialized medium." That's a good thing, no matter what your opinion of each individual film is. I believe some critics are panning him, but I'm not panning this one. I'm glad I saw it. I've missed a few films between THE SIXTH SENSE and THE VILLAGE, and there will be more after THE VILLAGE. I'll watch them all.