Great Expectations

Rating: Null/10 (13 January 2005)

Reading some of the reviews for M. Night Shyamalan's THE VILLAGE reminds one of the scene in Robert Townsend's film Hollywood Shuffle, where a parody of Siskel and Ebert called "Sneakin' in the Movies" has two reviewers giving a film "the finger." Amusing, but nonetheless harsh criticism that does little to enlighten, much less critique.
Although I agree that the execution of the film is somewhat problematic, I believe many reviewers have been, if not blinded, then swayed by M. Night's own proclamation of having a winning "formula." They have perhaps paid more attention to structure than to content.
The film speaks a great deal to the times in which we live. In a world where we have become so afraid of what lies beyond our own "villages," Shyamalan has woven a tale that forces us to address our own irrational fears of the "other." The horrors of the world "out there" must be increasingly played out on a grander scale by a media that is in an inevitable position of always having to up the ante. In THE VILLAGE, it is the elders that take on this role, betraying their cove of innocence, as we so often do, with good intentions and well-meaning hearts. But the effect is the same.
My only real complaint is Adrien Brody's character as the "village idiot." It is not so much in the performance; the impact would have been more profound if the character was of clear mind, acting consciously. We are left thinking, "Well, he doesn't know any better."
This film is not a horror flick. That may have been part of the problem. A matter of expectations, really. It is difficult to walk into an M. Night Shyamalan film without them. But if you happen to do so, on this occasion, you might find something that resonates beyond the slim 108 minutes.
Look out for a stirring performance by Bryce Dallas Howard and the always engaging Celia Weston.