See this film, and draw your own conclusions

Rating: 8/10 (11 March 2005)

I want to start of by saying that I've never had a more difficult time of rating a film than I did for "The Village". The reason for this being that it's not simply a movie which you love or hate, it's one that you think about after you're done watching it. Perhaps this wasn't the case for everyone who saw it, but it certainly was the case for me. I went into the theatre with certain expectations knowing that this was an M. Night Shyamalan film. After his three previous films you come to expect a certain essence that you wouldn't find in any other director's work. Shyamalan's films have their own style, look, and to a certain extent their own feel. I personally could not mistake any of his films for those of another director. With that having been said, "The Village" doesn't disappoint as far as acting and especially cinematography are concerned. As with his previous films, Shyamalan does a great job of extracting superb performances from his cast. This is especially true for Bryce Dallas Howard who delivers a first-rate performance as a blind girl who has the ability to see perhaps more than those without her affliction. Adrien Brody is also very good as the village idiot (no pun intended) who has more below the surface than meets the eye.
As I mentioned earlier, the cinematography and camera work in this film are excellent as well. The views of the village, especially at night, are perfect for setting the dark and sinister tone of the film. Shyamalan also does a great job of setting up the film's frightening moments by carefully and gradually bringing the audience in with his superb use of the camera lens. We're not scared of what's on the screen, we're scared of what what might be lurking behind it. This is one of the reasons that I enjoy Shyamalan's films, he never goes for the cheap thrill and instead chooses to create an atmosphere that will keep the audience guessing until the very end.
The final thing that I want to touch on regarding this film is of course the screenplay. It's difficult for me to label it simply as good or bad. I feel that it goes beyond those simple definitions. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Shyamalan is an extremely talented director and writer, and more importantly an absolute original. However, with "The Village" I feel that he wanted to express his opinion and at the same time send a message about today's society and the fear that people live in. It is this message that I feel may be the one downfall of this film. I believe that many people didn't get it, while others who did simply didn't agree with it. And there are of course those that didn't want to watch a film with a message and simply wanted to be entertained. Either way I think that the one thing all those people had in common is that they talked about the film after it was over, just as I'm talking about it now. (I strongly doubt that "Freddy Got Fingered" received 23,000 votes on this website). The point here is that "The Village" is the type of film that makes you think and want to talk to someone who's also seen it. I recommend it to anybody who enjoys films that are beyond the norm, but my advice is to watch it without any preconceived notions which can be established by reading reviews, including this one.