Creepy Beautiful: Unwarranted Smearing

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2008)

"The Village" is one of the few films that will, later in history, become a classic. If it does not, then we have lost sight of what makes a moving and essential film. It is both terrifying and beautiful, or put more simply as M. Night did in describing the work of Andrew Wyeth: "Creepy beautiful."
There are several critics who have done all they can to cripple any power or mystique the film has into some cheap attempt to revolve a plot around a single twist, spelling out all of the details along the way. However, I feel that all of this critical smearing is incredibly unwarranted, and that despite M. Night Shyalaman's power and weight with the likes of the executives at Disney, he has established himself as one of the most talented and important filmmakers of all time with this very film.
Needles to say, "The Village" is my favorite of his films. I cannot watch Ivy hold Lucius Hunt's hand in the final scene and say, "I'm back, Lucius" without feeling the heavy burden of tears welling behind my eyes. Even now I feel them as I think of the film. I think much of this has to do with not only stellar acting, directing, and cinematography, but also the music. James Newton Howard's score for this film is absolutely incredible, and I feel that even though he could have accomplished most of the film's brilliant atmospheric sound without her, Hilary Hahn is nonetheless an indispensable component to the music. Her single, arpeggio-filled violin pierces the madness and restores a needed sense of simple, minimalistic beauty, which is often equated with the love between Ivy and Lucius.
There is much more I could write about this magnificent film, but there are simply too many points for discussion. This leads me to my final argument: "The Village" is worthy of deep critical analysis. Had I the time and patience to do it, I would prove it to the world. The film seems so simply executed, so perfectly and easily constructed. However, there are several levels of symbolism and repetition that could be worthy of something like what Robin Wood contributed to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, not to mention more broad universals like foreign relations amongst people.
In matters of my personal opinion, I don't care what nay-sayers and bored critics say, because no matter what films he goes on to create, this one will always resonate in my mind, both conscious and subconscious. I think that it truly brings out that very human subconscious fear of "The Other", which, despite what we may assert on the surface level, we can all understand.