Not much of a surprise

Rating: 6/10 (30 July 2004)

I figured out the surprise ending of M Night Shyamalan's latest thriller about a half hour in. The movie is fairly creepy up to that point but, unfortunately, once you figure out what's going on there's little suspense since, as a thriller, The Village is all smoke and mirrors.
On the plus side Bryce Dallas Howard and Joaquin Phoenix have some nice moments together--The Village actually works much better as a romance than it does as a suspense movie.
Of the rest of the cast only William Hurt impresses, giving a strong and nuanced performance. Adrien Brody seems to be channelling Dwight Frye's Renfield from the Bela Lugosi version of Dracula. This was a peculiar part, to say the least, for an actor to take following up an Academy Award win. It's a complete waste of his talent and hopefully not a sign of things to come.
On the whole The Village is an ok entertainment but I really think it's time for Shyamalan to rethink his reliance on gotcha endings--his movies have become nothing more than an excuse for the final twist that at this point everyone expects. It doesn't really show much faith in his characters or in his ability to tell an story that will engage an audience without tricks. I think the gimmick is wearing thin and that this is going to be his least successful film to date.