Pleasantly surprised - enjoyable if predictable

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2005)

It's a shame so many people are criticizing this film based on its "twist." I think Shyamalan is a good storyteller in the classic sense that he's able to just make a good atmospheric thriller that holds one's interest. Some are saying he's a rip-off of Hitchcock, but Hitchcock's films were usually a bit more realistic and almost never supernatural (perhaps "The Birds" is the farthest he ventured into truly fictional horror, even "Psycho" was realistic - if not then, certainly now).
"The Village" is a good film. I thought the performances were fine, the direction was tight and suspenseful, and the twist - although I guessed it before the film even started - was still delivered well.
Another painful thing about this film is that so many people were expecting a shock-twist, when in fact the twist in "The Village" isn't as gimmicky as one might expect. In fact it's not much of a "shock" or "twist," it's more of a standard minor revelation in the film, and easily predictable.
It's a testament to the story itself that it is able to be entertaining in spite of this. At least I thought so.
I'm not a huge fan of Shyamalan, I didn't buy into the "Sixth Sense" hype at first and thought it was a fairly basic supernatural thriller with a one-time twist that was easily predictable. I liked it on repeat viewings, but at first I was disappointed.
I saw "Unbreakable" and enjoyed it, but found it fairly dull at the same time.
Then I saw "Signs" and absolutely loved it, which is ironic because a vast number of people seem to hate the film based on the single fact that its twist is unrealistic.
I don't think that's always the case. Just like with "Signs," Shyamalan builds his twist into something else - it's a metaphor for a larger picture. The final message I gathered from "The Village" is that you can't escape tragedy and heartbreak, it follows you everywhere, and it's an element of humanity that can't be broken away from.
Not a great film but a fun one-time viewing with a satisfying conclusion.