We Love His Formula...

Rating: 9/10 (23 February 2005)

M. Night Shyamalan has done it again. A perfect cast, a compelling story. Love will conquer all.
Who hasn't wished that they could return to a simpler time, possibly a safer time? The 19th century rural utopia would be a tonic for many today who are feeling simply swept forward into a world that they have little or no control of.
The growth the "Elders" is nicely portrayed without the total destruction of their Eden as most other story tellers would have treated this subject. Lies, even for the noblest purposes, do have a way of coming home to roost with undesirable results.
This movie is not for everyone. Those who must have an adrenaline fix every few minutes will and should be disappointed. This is not a story about monsters; it is a story about those who live successfully in an isolationist's utopia.
This story is told as one would view an earlier time, unhurried, at it's own pace. The collision of the two realities at the end of the movie was done with great restraint and composure.
Of course the staff that guarded the preserve would be hand-picked for their pathos or innocence. Why else would there be fully stocked medical facilities every 10 miles along the perimeter of the preserve? Can you imagine being the Trust Executor protecting this Eden from publicity? For those who didn't catch it the first time, Mr. Shyamalan played the guard captain reading the newspaper. His reflection is clear in the Medicine Storage Case glass.
This is a thoughtful and well told tale, one that makes for much conversation after the viewing.