A Total Waste of Time and Talent

Rating: 5/10 (30 July 2004)

I'm a big fan of Shyamalan's prior films, but The Village simply doesn't work. And no, it's not that I'm too dense to understand that the movie is an allegory about how people are able to manipulate others through fear--I get that. See, the problem is not the concept, it's the execution.
First of all, Shyamalan seems to have forgotten the simplest rule when it comes to creative writing: Show, Don't Tell. This rule is simply broken throughout the movie. Revelations that should have been shown are simply recited by the actors in the movie.
In addition to that, his decision to give us an early glimpse of one of the creatures completely backfires. Why? Because what we see is laughable. Moreover, all three twists are revealed in such a way that they deflate whatever little tension remained. As a result, the movie is extremely boring.
Is there anything worthy in this mess? Sure, the acting is solid all around, especially that of Howard, and the direction shows some of the brilliance that MNS has shown in the past. Other than that, however, there isn't much here.
5/10