Despite ending this is still a pretty good mystery

Rating: 6/10 (22 August 2004)

I know I'm not alone when I say that I knew what the ending was going to be but I still couldn't forget how well made this film was leading up to something fairly predictable. I hope future viewers will ignore what the others are saying about this and judge it for themselves and see that it's an effective mystery. Story is about a village that is deep in the woods where the inhabitants raise livestock and farm and live by a set of common rules which includes that no one ever sets foot in the woods surrounding their village. They have a truce with the creatures that live in the forest where they both respect each others borders but the people still have round the clock watches in towers just in case the alarm is needed. The village is run by Edward Walker (William Hurt) who keeps things running by consulting with the elders on issues at hand. Edward's daughter is Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard) who is blind but still very strong willed and she is in love with Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) who petitions for a chance to venture into the woods.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
The village idiot named Noah (Adrien Brody) is also in love with Ivy and he stabs Lucius badly which leaves him on deaths door and desperately needing medicine to combat the infection he has acquired. Ivy tells her father Edward that she will go get the medicine from the town but first he confides in her about the secret of the creatures.

M. Night Shyamalan directed this and shows his usual gifts as a storyteller such as well written characters, deliberate pacing, and of course the twist ending and while I understand that many did not care for this I am still recommending it because everything leading up to the ending is very well done. One of the best things about Shyamalan's films is the taut editing that keeps viewers guessing and occasionally jumping out of their seats and this is no different. The editing reminds me a lot of how Clint Eastwood edits his films in that every scene is significant and every shot has meaning which is why his films are still fun to watch a second and third time. Howard as Ivy gives an inspired performance and their were times when some of the lines of dialogue she recites sounds a lot like poetry especially when talking about seeing the world in her own way. I do admit that I knew what kind of ending was coming up and it's no fun to figure something like that out but I was intrigued when one of the creatures pops up later in the film. Also, one can't dismiss Hurt's character sending his blind daughter into the woods when he probably could have gone himself. This is a glaringly strange moment in the story that I think hurts the film and with the ending I can understand the viewers frustration. This is not one of Shyamalan's best efforts but it's still a good mystery and like "Signs" it possesses some truly eerie and nerve wracking moments.