Different from Shyamalan's other films... one needs to know that to appreciate it.

Rating: 8/10 (17 March 2006)

Although being a fairly good admirer of M. Night Shyamalan's previous three films I did not go to see "The Village" in theatres when it came out, partly because I was very busy with my work then and partly because I received negative comments from friends who saw it. I finally saw it on TV and am now regretting the fact that I missed its theatre screening.
To speak things clearly, "The Village" is not primarily 'a suspense-horror film with a sharp ending twist' as the popular description of his films goes. It is essentially a beautiful and faithful love story in the backdrop of an unusual situation. This backdrop has those elements of suspense and horror only to enrich the story, not to contaminate it. The film's social and political undertone shows how Shyamalan is growing more mature in writing cinematic materials, with several conflicting points of view interwoven with one another. And his visionary about the village and the woods is simply amazing. That makes it a visually stylish film too. And about the so-called 'plot twist', I think it was intentionally given away much too early, otherwise the original love story would have been largely affected. One must appreciate the film's ending, even if it does not contain any 'twist' as one might expect.
Bryce Dallas Howard completely steals the show with her dedicated portrayal of Ivy; I'd definitely look for her future works. Joaquin Phoenix as an actor is also nice to watch. Adrien Brody remains a little under-utilized in my opinion. And one must not forget William Hurt's excellent acting as Ivy's father.
The bottomline: To watch this film and appreciate it, it must not be compared with his previous films. It does not have their elements, but it has something new to offer. Keep and open mind for that.