what a great storyteller

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2005)

The Village, I found to be a truly beautiful film in every sense. In my point of view it is essentially a love story first, and the circumstances of the town and what was happening there came secondary. The script was beautifully written, and I believed every word, one of my favourite scenes being the dialogue spoken between Luicuis and Ivy on her porch as he was watching over her .
The performances were incredible, in particularly Bryce Howard, what a great first time performance for her. I have always been a great fan of Joaquin Phonenix since "Parenthood" and he did not disappoint.
In regards to the costumes I was glad to see that the creatures from the dark side were made using the traditional techniques (costumes and make-up) as I feel they give the story an amazing timeless quality.
The production design was spectacular with the whole town being built from scratch based in such a remote location. Well done to all of those in the art department, the set dressing was amazing, and I am sure there were many a leaf wrangling.
I believe the score is so in sync with the film allowing it to flow so beautifully, and as the viewer I was totally caught up with the what I was seeing, keeping us in suspense and intrigue and in love without being to obvious. The only other film that I have felt has come close is The Piano.
The cinematography and lighting allowed us to be caught up in the small town, to run into our homes when it called for it, to follow the love story, and to feel anguish when she was in the woods, only a great cinematographer can give you such a front-row seat.
Overall I found this film to be I timeless story that is obviously based in history and tradition which translated so well onto the big screen, in my opinion only due to the fact that M.Night Shymalan, the king of suspense, met the challenge.