Graceful. Frightening

Rating: Null/10 (25 August 2004)

I walked in expecting to be let down. I wasn't. Guess the only thing I can rant about is how LOUD the film was at times... LOUDER than it should have,
unless that was one of the intentions that the maker wanted as to purchase good frights from the audience. I liked the "holding of hands" cohesion aspect of
the story; by the way I thought the camera-work (as in all of MNS's pieces) of this film was graceful. Liked the thrill and the LOOK of the cliffhanger sequence
when Ivy was holding her hand out, and then Lucius grabs her hand just in the nick of time.
The score? Wasn't bad at all. Fact is I think I loved it. James Newton Howard is always promising.
I did mention cohesion; the love story. What eventually happened to Adrien Brody and the "love triangle"... and the sudden U-Turn (much like character arc)
that the plot takes in the middle of the story. First you have Lucius having to go to the towns; then... I won't spoil the U-Turn. The dialogue? Well, I found it a
little stilted at times; sometimes a little too much so that it was laughably... too refined. Nonetheless, the performances of everyone were decent. You really
feel like you are watching Amish people. You sometimes forget that its William Hurt, or Sigourney Weaver or Phoenix because of the good performances...
The twist? I won't spoil it...Most will see it coming. Most won't. Some people will feel cheated. Some don't. But what counts is the KILLER SHARK of the
story; how Night writes each scene to move the story forward. And how he executes it gracefully, beautifully. And I loved the MOMENTS where there was
anticipation of action in this film (though lots of those moments were too loud; as I mentioned earlier) I thought the scene with Ivy and the red creature in the
forest (after she recalls that Hurt mentioned he heard of rumors of the creatures that he eventually lectured the youngsters about) was exhilarating; thrilling.
And a man even let out a girlish scream in the theater that left some chuckling (comic relief). Reminds me of the scene in SIGNS when the green alien
appeared from the bushes in the TV footage; a dude in the theater screamed so loud almost like a girl... Well, I guess M. Night has the skill to bring that out
in people.
But only upon first viewing, I guess. Once again, thrills via anticipation of action. Will my enthusiasm for this film deteriorate if I watched it with someone who
casts cold eyes?
No. I also loved the underlying of the "Innocence" and doing things out of "love" for the Amish tradition; kept the story FATTER and gave it more layer. Oh,
not to mention the love story aspect. So, in my opinion, THE VILLAGE won't cheat anyone. Just watch it with no expectations at all. It helps. Hope I didn't
spoil anything here.
9/10