This film is about something, but you can't notice it

Rating: Null/10 (18 September 2004)

* MAJOR SPOILERS *
Death is a part of life, of course, and you can't go on living without accepting it. But dying violently, or even suffering violence from another human being without dying, can be beyond frustration to many people. It may lead you to thinking that the whole universe is wrong. Many stories deal with people who suffer that and live life seeking justice or vengeance.
This film is the story of a group of people who had a very peculiar answer to what can be the ultimate frustration  death being inflicted upon a beloved one not by a virus, cancer cells or lightening, but by people. What do they do? They create a small world where violence never enters because they carefully select what human inventions can go in  family, marriage, work, love, ethics, God  and which cannot enter  such as money and competition. The world they create is a 19th century (change very little and you can actually place it in the 17th century) 'village' not only technologically very primitive, but also a very simple society (certainly more simple than the real 19th century America). They know where they are, but their descendants don't. The village is a compassionate, loving world, because they decided to become such people when they created it, while their descendants don't know another way to be.
Throughout the film what strikes you is the absolute absence of aggressive instincts in people's minds and how people are extremely united and undivided by shutting themselves from the outside world. One day, however, violence enters their lives by a murder attempt committed by the 'village idiot'. That incident makes them rethink the whole enterprise and even put it all in jeopardy in an attempt to save the victim of the attack, who is dying (in order to be true to their project, they must stand that risk). Victim saved, they decide the plan is still worth it. More than ever, actually.
That is basically the 'theme' of the film. In itself, it is incredibly promising, and very relevant. Some friends of mine who saw it thought of the sociological problem of solidarity, while I thought of the discussion about 'evil in man's heart' from William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'. The movie, however, does not seek to become something to think about, and the premise is not very exploited. Why? Because everything is played like a thriller with a twisted ending. The fact that you only learn what is going on in the last ten minutes makes everything shallow. Someone here said that the movie is made like a twilight zone episode. That is VERY precise,specially if you have the first series in mind (think of the pilot episode, and you get something very close). Did you notice how practically NONE of the reviewers of this film commented on the theme? That is because the way the script is made just takes your entire attention away from it.It is a very rich idea that was transformed in easy scares and silly mysteries. I have a feeling this movie will be forgotten very soon.
The director probably think he discovered something brilliant when he did 'The Sixth Sense', an idea that can make a lot of money and also get people's respect. So he just decided to do it again and again. But this movie has nothing like Haley Joel Osmond's landmark performance to make it work like a very good drama mixed with suspense. The main character's are just so-so. But nothing nearly as bad as 'Signs', don't worry.
Since I always try to say something good, let me note that Hurt is excellent, as is Bryce Dallas Howard. The photography also stands out.