Fabulous Movie (Spoilers Abound!)

Rating: 10/10 (14 September 2004)

As a long-time fan of the director, I had planned on seeing this movie all along, but after a month of pre-premiere trailers, I was not very excited about it. Frankly, I'm not the kind of person who cares what was in the woods. I liked Sixth Sense, in fact that's where I first became a fan, but it was not because of the twist at the end. It wasn't even because of the creepy storyline. It was the writer/director/producer's ability to make a layered film with vibrant characters. I didn't like the kid because he could see dead people. I liked the kid because he made understand the frustration and isolation of someone in an intense situation. I was hit in the solar plexis by the excellent writing, and thrilled by the visual complexity of the film overall. The kid could have been a garbage collector for all I cared, but if Night was writing the garbage collector's story, I would be watching.
As his next two films came out, I began to see a problem developing. People were wasting two hours of their lives, barely watching the depth of his stories, in wild anticipation of figuring out the last 5 minutes. Sort of "The Forrest Gump Guide to Film Watching". Friends with whom I would later discuss the films only wanted to explain whether or not they had guessed the ending, and often couldn't recall details, or even large plot situations, from the rest of the film. Night's mystique was surpassing his story-telling.
So, this summer I went to the Village lacking my usual Night-fever, because the trailers led me to believe (as it apparently did millions of others) that it would be his most supernatural film yet. Wow. I was wrong. This film is one of the best films I think I have seen in years. I loved it. In my opinion, it is his best film yet. The trailers are very misleading, which is why I think many viewers and film critics were disappointed. They did not get the movie that they were led to believe they would see. Instead of monsters, they got mythology. Instead of horror, they got a love story. Instead of CGI, they got realism. Human nature, with all of our desires and dreams, terrors and disappointments. Choices that lead to happiness and sorrow. Finding out that we are the deadliest beast. Fantastic. You feel, in the end, that the Village is a real community, and Night does this...creates these layered human beings...with, at times, little more than 10-20 lines for the Villagers. But at the end of the film, I felt I knew every single person who lived there. I understood them. I loved them. I grieved for them, and celebrated with them. Come on, Night, you must have a map somewhere. Share with someone who understood what you were saying.
Fan or not, see the film. Go with no expectations. Pay attention for the whole two hours, and not just the last 5 minutes. And understand you will be seeing something that is rarely out there anymore. Originality.