mixed feelings

Rating: 6/10 (9 November 2005)

Although I found the movie was lacking a lot of suspense I must say that I was impressed when I watched the DVD the first time. Alone, that is. The atmosphere and the acting (especially by Bryce Dallas Howard) is of high standard. But you are really waiting for "something" to happen, and you have to keep waiting and waiting....
Nevertheless I decided to watch the DVD for a second time, now together with my wife. I expected her to be just as surprised as I was with the ending, which I considered was worth while the waiting. Well, I misjudged completely.... The second time the movie seemed even more slow. When the surprise at the end was there, my wife was not surprised at all. I wondered why she wasn't surprised at all. She said it was just because these people gave her the impression that they were living in a kind of Amish community..... I have to admit that if you look at the movie like that the movie is not exciting at all.
But I have another objection, which is about the originality of the idea for the movie. A few years ago I bought DVD copy of a French movie called "Le Pacte des loups"(aka "Brotherhood Of The Wolf"). This movie oozes much more suspense than "the Village", has a very good actress too (Monica Belluci) and moreover seems to be the blueprint for the idea used in "The Village". And that's a shame.......