The Village (IMO)

Rating: 2/10 (26 February 2006)

Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard), Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) and Noah (Adrian Brody) all live in a stable 19th century community. However, their entrapped by an anonymous being lurking in the uncharted woods. The constant threat that haunts over the self-sufficient society keeps them from retrieving much needed medicines from "The Towns". Shyamalan uses controversial yet original plot twists throughout The Village; inspirational for some, but more likely, irritable for most. Yes, it has elements of an engaging horror flick, and is even advertised as a "hide-behind-pillow" movie, but nearer the end, it cascades into a gaping hole which was disappointment; almost as disappointing as the fact there are no kids who see dead people or aliens with water issues. It's evidently not to the standard one would expect to perceive from Shyamalan work. It compares to his earlier pieces like a box of luxury Belgium chocolates (his earlier efforts) to an assortment of feet flavoured fruit drops (The Village). The acting from Joaquin Phoenix cannot be touched. Stepping out of his villainous image that I'm sure we all remember from the highly successful Gladiator (2000), Phoenix glides on a more heroic role. He portrays his archetypal character flawlessly; which is precisely what can be expected from an actor of his league. This is more than what can be said for Bryce Dallas Howard, who suddenly finds she's become the protagonist, which in my opinion was far too big a position for her. Seeing past all the confusion in maladvertised genre, The Village comes across as grave drama and Roger Deakins' impressive cinematography should not be discredited in the least, as it is one of very few factors that the film is worth seeing for, that and the twists and turns over-shadowing what is a basis for a love story. An all-round atmospheric thriller that tends to shallow out occasionally. The storyline's not easy on the brain, but if you can be bothered to stay aware long enough, you should encounter some pleasant jumps. See this film if you enjoy jumpy puzzle-movies, if you're a horror fan-who takes to disappointment well-or if you need somewhere to sleep for an hour or two.