Like A Slow, Long Extended "Twilight Zone" Episode

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2004)

"The Village" is a beautiful looking, but slow, long extended "Twilight Zone" episode or Ruth Rendell-type mystery with a twist.

Not only does the camera move slowly, but the characters speak very slowly, especially William Hurt as the Village Elder, to emphasize their non-modern context.
So Bryce Dallas Howard lights up the screen almost by default because she gets showier action and lines (though she looks so much like Judy Greer playing her screen sister that I was confused at first about Joaquin Phoenix's subtly quietly different reactions to each).

And there isn't much else that Phoenix gets to do, other than look like he could be the object of desire of two young women which he doesn't have to do much to be for any woman, even a blind one, while Adrien Brody just has to laugh a lot as the Village Idiot.
The very slow build-up does finally have an ironic pay off, but we've gotten pretty restless by then.