Subtext!!

Rating: Null/10 (6 August 2004)

I grew up in a very conservative Christian home. I remember hearing about how the world is slipping down a moral slope. With prayer in school gone and the lie of `separation of church and state' permeating our society. We as American's have lost those Judeo-Christian ideals that the founding fathers put in place. Hence we were a fallen nation, and that's why there are so many problems in this Country.
While I'm not asking anyone whose reading this to embrace these ideas, they permeate M. Knight Shyamalan's new film `The Village.' An intriguing motion picture that asks and yet never quite answers the questions many American's are asking in this post 9/11, postmodern, and enlightened period.

THE VILLAGE is a quaint little place far from the bustling `towns' of evil and greed. It's a 19-century prairie town, and a utopia where decent people live out their lives in peace and modest prosperity. Money is not and issue, for the people of THE VILLAGE have no need of it. They all speak and act like Quakers, and hold close to traditional family values.

Of course THE VILLAGE has its own local government. It is ruled by board of elders, who are strict but fair. There seems to be only one rule, `Stay Out of Covington Forrest.'
You see the forest is the only problem with the Village. It's full of monsters. As long as the people stay out of the wood The Monsters leave them alone. The other problem is that The Village needs some basic drugs to save its people. As the film opens we see the casket of a young boy who died because he did not have simple medicine's to keep him alive. It's a scary existence but there is peace, so it might just be a trade off? Or is it?
THE VILLAGE is the type of movie I personally love. It is a film about subtext. But what gives the film its spark is the fact that it doesn't play its message at you. But you only realize this if you give it some time and patience. If you overlook its flaws, what you'll find is a movie that speaks to any audience. Without being preachy and overwrought.
It plays with some of the things we as American's have gotten used to in these dark times. The color terror alert systems, false terror alarms, and presents people like you and me, people who want to go about their days without having to worry about the darkness hiding in the woods. THE VILLAGE is a typical suburban town, if it was transplanted onto the prairie.
I loved the scene with Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix, GLADIATOR) and Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Grinch) as they sit on the porch in the middle of the night and preach their love to each other. The scene is alive with energy and light. Shyamalan frames the shot so close up, you feel like your part of the action, and the actors turn the stilted Quaker like dialogue on its head.
Howard is just phenomenal. She fills her character with color. The other actors around her seem weighed down by the stilted dialogue, which I'll admit takes some getting used to. Howard enchants from the very first frame and commands the audience's eyes. Like a young Holly Hunter mixed with Julia Roberts, Bryce Howard has the potential to be the next big thing. Watch out pop a couple years from now we could have another Oscar winner in the family.
The other bright spot in the film is Adrien Brody (The Pianist) he portrays Noah the town retard. Man did he have a good time. There is energy in his portrayal that just gushes with enthusiasm. It looks like he's having a ball. I'll admit there was one moment I thought he was laying it on a little too much. But I'll forgive him that small moment cause he's just dead on the rest of the time.
At its heart THE VILLAGE is social commentary for both sides of an argument. For some they will look at these characters and think them pathetic. Why give up your freedom for safety? Why allow the government to fuel your fears? But other will look at these characters and say `isn't it great that these people got away from the horror of this world? Isn't it wonderful that they created a utopia? I wish I lived in The Village, free from all the evil influences of the world at large.'
As for the patented surprise ending, it works sort of. If you give the movie its due you'll be satisfied. I smelled it from a mile away and still took a lot away from the movie. If you don't buy the premise you'll be let down and hate the movie. But that's okay. Great movies don't have to be universally loved, as long as you don't leave the theater indifferent the movie will have an effect on you. It will keep you talking and that's a good thing.

**** Out of 5