Making sense of the Village...

Rating: 9/10 (31 July 2004)

For starters, do not, and I repeat, do NOT (possible spoiler)walk into this film and expect to be scared to death. The Village should be viewed as a psychological drama. I think that the advertising campaign really betrays this movie for what it really is. Second, without giving away the big ending, I really cannot imagine ANYONE getting the end of this movie before the ending is finally revealed. I don't consider myself the "village idiot", but someone has to have a "sixth sense" to get the ending. If you truly got it before it was revealed, I applaud you.
Now, after that is out of the way, (possible spoiler) The Village was a sad, complex, yet hopeful movie dealing with isolationism and how our fear of the unknown can imprison and destroy us. Good performances is basically the glue that makes the story work, and thankfully, the performances are incredible. Bryce Howard is perfect as the blind heroine that makes the story believable and sad. Joaquin Phoenix plays the silent and brooding Lucius, with an almost puzzling and stunning brilliance. Easily the most disturbing and depressing character is Adrian Brody's Noah, a mentally retarded young man with feelings toward Howard's Ivy. The other supporting actors are excellent, with the shy and concerned Sigorney Weaver, as Lucius's mother, and William Hurt as the calm and knowing father of Howard.
Yes, there are a couple of scares at the beginning of the film, but please again, do NOT take this as a preview of things to come. I have been thinking long and hard about how i would rate this film. It did not live up to what I thought, yet it was superior in the areas that one rarely thinks of. SPOILER: There are two twists to the film: a large and a small. They both serve as a significant ADDITION to the plot. The endings to the Sixth Sense and Signs were impressive, yet really do not add anything to the core message. Unbreakable had a ending that somewhat added to the plot, but the movie was stupid anyway.
I'll wind this up with a rating of 8/10. I do recommend seeing this film, not necessarily in theaters, but at least once somewhere. And finally, and I'll say this one last time, (possible spoiler) if you walk into this movie and expect a mile a minute thrills, you will be severely disappointed. If you still want to see this different and intriguing film, then i highly recommend it.