What happened? *Spoilers*

Rating: 5/10 (3 August 2004)

My friends and I wanted to go see a film one Saturday night. My friend wanted to see "I, Robot," but I wanted to see "The Village" as I had liked Night's previous works "Signs" and "Unbreakable." Boy, did I get a verbal beating after the film was done.
First and foremost, this film was advertised incorrectly. I expected a similar experience to that of "Signs," not a journey into the structure of our violent society. Now, for the film.
The story starts off with the death of a young boy in the late 19th century. A young man, Phoenix, decides to go through the forbidden forest, inhabited by "those we don't speak of," to garner medicines for the town.
From here, it is downhill. To get to the actual journey it takes the film about an hour and ten minutes. I am not joking. The first hour is mostly a backdrop for the central conflict that begins at 1:10. This is simply UNACCEPTABLE for a film. This leaves the film only 30 minutes to finish both the conflict, with a climax, mind you, AND the conclusion.
The funny thing is that the climax is longer than both the conflict and the conclusion. Why? The conflict between the one on the journey and "those we don't speak of" takes about 10 minutes. 20 minutes are given for the climax, and there are 0 minutes for the conclusion. You will feel angry that the film ends with no conclusion.
Now, this wouldn't make a movie; I am sure someone could contend that there have been great movies with this sort of timescale. The problem is that the way that the movie is presented, you are expecting to get every bit of info now as opposed to later. Basically, the only thing that is stopping you from leaving the theater is the cost of your entry.
I WANTED this movie to be good. I expected much more than just a 30 minute movie. I hope that Night will learn from this unholy mistake.