Impressive Cast paper over the cracks.

Rating: 6/10 (6 January 2008)

SPOILERS: When you see a M. Night Shyamalan film, you know there is going to be a twist, and in the case of the Village, you can pretty much work it out from the films setup. Still, the film is watchable and impressively staged, with a fine cast, including Dallas Bryce Howard, whose (good IMO) performance seems to have divided opinion, lend the film an air of quality that it doesn't really deserve.
It touches on, but never really explores, a number of issues, such as how much the world is what we are taught it to be, superstition and the "Wildwood" that still lurks in the back of European imaginations, (I don't know if that extends to other cultures, it probably does) the role of the "Other" in defining a society, and especially in its use in social control. The village elders maintain their undemocratic utopia by creating a sense of constant outside threat that the villagers have to put much effort into combating, the safe and unsafe colours, painting the boundaries, taking shifts in the watch tower etc. and prevents them from questioning the status quo and venturing beyond the narrow boundaries and discovering the truth.
Much could be made of how the film leaves the viewer to decide how they feel about the morality of Walker and his society, and how it compares with societies that use the same tactic, such as Nazi Germany with the Jews and Bolsheviks, and arguably our own with terrorism. I imagine the films fans use this to argue that the film has more to say than I believe it does.
In my opinion, the film isn't that deep, and the entire hole filled plot just one giant Macguffin to hang the twist and the admittedly strong atmosphere on.