"THE VILLAGE" HAS A WEAK SCRIPT WITH A SILLY PLOT THAT STRAINS CREDIBILITY.

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2004)

REVIEW OF 'THE VILLAGE'
Even if you're a follower of M. Night Shyamalan's first three films, his latest effort will severely test your patience, not to mention your gullibility, as a viewer. "The Village" is a beautifully-photographed, goose-bumpy stinker. It seems Mr. Shyamalan is content in making the same movie over and over again, and while the plot, characters and settings may be different in each film, the desired effect is the same. Shyamalan wants to cleverly pull the rug out from under his audience with one last, jaw-dropping plot twist. This time, though, the denouement is no big surprise and it severely strains credibility.
What the surprise in "The Village" is, I won't say because I don't want to spoil it for fans of this sort of thing. However, by the film's end, I will say I felt cheated. I groaned out loud because I couldn't believe the final twist could be that silly. The late, great Rod Serling wrote these kinds of morality plays 40 some years ago but those were classic examples of mood and storytelling. Most of these "Twilight Zone" episodes taught a moral lesson or commented on a social issue and many of them had an O. Henry-inspired twist ending. These scripts also had a wry, satiric sense of humor and were crafted with great skill. The script for "The Village" is not. As a director, Shyamalan creates a foreboding atmosphere and a few chilling moments but his flat, clunky screenplay fails both he and the audience as the film draws us toward its rather mundane ending.
Shyamalan's terrific cast of actors tries hard but even the seasoned pros can only do so much with some of this corny and stilted dialogue. Of the ensemble, William Hurt does the best, especially since the dialogue seems to flow naturally off his tongue. One of my favorite actresses, Sigourney Weaver, is basically wasted in a colorless role. Joaquin Phoenix is dour and very serious and pretty newcomer, Bryce Dallas Howard, has plenty of charisma as Mr. Phoenix's love interest. In the role of the village weirdo, Adrien Brody chews the scenery but he's obviously having a rollicking good time.
The film looks spectacular thanks to the rich, burnished cinematography by Roger Deakins, who photographs the backgrounds in "The Village" as if they were paintings created by Dutch masters. Kudos to Mr. Deakins for an outstanding effort.
Though Mr. Shyamalan has created some interesting characters and situations in "The Village," they're basically abandoned for what is a rather ridiculous and implausible ending. But by that time, I didn't really care.