Great Stuff

Rating: Null/10 (10 November 2004)

This is a welcome change for me and as such it stands tall amongst other Hollywood offerings. As with his other movies there is a gimmick attached to the plot but I am glad M Night Shyamalan gave us a simple story with two fine performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard amongst a strong ensemble cast. People who view and review Shyamalans movies often concentrate on the gimmick 'I see dead people' Sixth Sense; 'an indestructible man' Unbreakable; 'alien beings' Signs; when I believe these elements come a close second to the characters and how they develop throughout the story. For me Unbreakable was about discovering love and meaning within your life (Bruce Willis gave up a sporting career for the love of his wife, a love which slipped away in the face of life's mundane disappointments) and in Signs it was about Mel Gibson letting go of the past to live for the future and reaffirming his faith. Children and family feature heavily in the two latter stories and their fathers, although loving, are lost within them selves and are unable to see the love and joy available within their family group. The story progresses and the plot gimmick, when realized allows the character to move towards their niche in the world.
I found similar themes within the Village. For me it's essentially about faith and romance; faith in yourself and again the joy to be found in companionship and love.
The movie starts slowly immersing the viewer in the village community; I found that this time was well used to develop character and setting and serves to allow the viewer full access to the characters thought process when making decisions later on.
Some have said that you can figure out the ending, so what? At least it's done well; I rather liked the idea myself, although, I understand that it has been used before but then so has 'dead person finally realising they're dead' (Sixth Sense) and this was met with rave reviews across the world! Who cares if its been done before? This is a deftly handled piece of film-making; I reveled at the innocence of the characters and the beginnings of the romance between Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard. I found simple enjoyment in setting up their feelings for one another and then putting them to the test such as when she steadfastly believes he won't leave her in danger and the moment he finally holds her hand again. I think I enjoyed this romantic aspect because it was subtle but powerful. In many respects is difficult to place the movie in a genre; one reviewer was disappointed because they thought this movie was going to be a horror film; I found this incredibly difficult to believe given the amount of information on offer before it went on general release and can only assume that this particular reviewer doesn't get to watch many movies. I found the movie offered some eerie moments and some genuine excitement.
While it may not tick all my boxes its miles better than many of its contemporaries and definitely worth a look.