An OK Film Afflicted by Bad Marketing - Slight Spoilers

Rating: 7/10 (7 August 2005)

"The Village" is a perfect example of why it's dangerous to mis-market a movie. While being handled like a thriller, the audience would have been much better informed about what it actually is if it were handled more as a human interest piece. "The Village" becomes much more interesting when watching it as a character study than a horror/suspense movie.
Changing focus on a movie can only take you so far, though. There's still the matter of the plot - does it work? The answer is yes and no. It works when you consider the movie a warning against being ruled by fear - I once heard that M. Night Shyamalan (henceforth MNS) had post 9/11 America in mind when writing the film. In that light, one sees the villagers purposely using fear as a control mechanism and the movie becomes a fairly clever commentary on our times. It doesn't work when you question the plot to much. It's not easy to try to make sense of the choices and actions of the Elders. Superficial answers are all one can get. The final confrontation with a "creature" at the end doesn't quite work out as well as it should. For a movie that works best on a psychological level, the action involved seems misplaced. I tend to see it as a built in bathroom break and usually don't watch it through.
The actor's portrayals of their characters are hit and miss. I don't know if it was a purposeful choice of MNS, but portrayal of the Elders don't ring as true as the younger generation. Given the final twists of the movie, maybe the Elders were meant to sound rather clunky with their speech. Regardless, the work of the older generation (with a special mention of William Hurt) largely comes off as rather wooden and uncomfortable. The acting improves greatly with the younger stars. It is mostly the work of the perfectly cast Bryce Dallas Howard and Joaquin Phoenix that make the movie bearable at all, although smaller roles such as Judy Greer's and Michael Pitt's definitely add to the film. In my experience, it's general consensus that Bryce and Joaquin's scenes together that are the best in the film.
Overall, I think MNS's greatest achievement in this movie is in creating atmosphere and a visually appealing directing style. I think it's time he starts working on scripts with other people - he needs someone to tell him when something doesn't work.