A Must See Film that May Disappoint

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2004)

Aware there was a plot twist in this film similar to one in the Sixth Sense I wanted to make sure I saw The Village close enough to its release date that no one gave it away the ending to me before I saw it. I wanted to give it a fair chance, and I recommend you do the same.
What I found was a good script and more than passable acting, including a great performance by Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter) in her role as Ivy. What I also found was a somewhat bloated film, with scenes I found myself wishing had been cut even if--after the fact--they turned out to contain important clues to what would eventually be the outcome. It's tiresome to have to forgive a tedious scene while it's on the screen just because you figure it will turn about to be important later. This film would have been better about 18 minutes shorter.