A film that stays with you

Rating: Null/10 (4 April 2007)

It's difficult enough possessing a hard-to-pronounce name in Hollywood. But when you've also got a name that virtually needs no introduction, then you're in real trouble. Such is the plight of M. Night Shyamalan, the Philadelphia-bred South Indian director who was catapulted to stardom overnight with the release of his masterful ghost story 'The Sixth Sense'. So indelible was his impression on the movie-going public that half a decade later, his name alone single-handedly propelled the opening weekend of 'The Village' to a stratospheric $50 million. But just like any wunderkind who's achieved success on his first go, Shyamalan was quickly dubbed a one-trick pony who had lost his touch. His film was ripped apart in its second weekend, crumbling a hemorrhagic 67%.. enough for it to be labeled a commercial disappointment. It's truly a shame, considering 'The Village' might just be Shyamalan's most poignant and deeply moving film to date. Starring the luminous Bryce Dallas Howard in what could best be described as a revelatory performance, 'The Village' tells the plodding story of a small 19th century community isolated from the outside world by an encircling forest populated by threatening hooded creatures. While the film's premise (and particularly its preposterous climax) might wither away in the light of logical reasoning, its best pleasures are found in its small moments. The hushed midnight conversation between Howard and Joaquin Phoenix on the front porch. The strained violin soundtrack as they cross the screen in beautiful slow motion to escape the intruders. The tracking camera movement as it follows the blind Howard around the village in haunting deliberation. In the end, these images sear themselves into your mind far more intensely than the whole movie does. Call Shyamalan what you may.. a one-hit wonder, a formula-milking charlatan, or a self-deluded narcissist (see Lady in the Water), he sure knows how to direct a scene.