The Village Movie Review

The Village (2004)

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Written by: M. Night Shyamalan
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Cherry Jones, Judy Greer, Jesse Eisenberg
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
A series of events tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.

Verdict
It's a neat idea, but this is a movie that hinges on the twist. Everyone knew it would have a twist when it released, being a Shyamalan movie. I think that set expectations high as well as perpetuating the joke that all Shyamalan movies have a twist. What's it like to live a simple, rustic life? How far do you go to maintain that, and what happens when primitive resources aren't enough? This is a neat thought exercise that's overshadowed by Shyamalan and his other movies.
Watch it.

Review
This is right around the time that Shyamalan's movies became synonymous with a big twist, so much that it became a running joke. This movie seems to be built around the twist. It didn't help that his next movies Lady in the Water and The Happening weren't very engaging.

A small, rustic village set some time before modernization provides a contrast to the pace of modern day life. We don't know where or when, but this focuses on the tight knit community where life is less busy and people survive on what they produce. Being insulated, the inhabitants rely on each other.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Lucius

Early on we get a hint of something menacing in the woods when small animals are found dead, but the village elders attribute it to coyotes and not to the unnamed, much larger creatures that roam the woods and deter villages from straying. A watchmen is stationed in a tower every evening, and one night he rings a bell, sending everyone hiding in their basements. Also these humanoid creatures are fond of the color red, thus it's a forbidden color.

When Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) is injured beyond the abilities of the village doctor, Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard), a blind resident, is sent out to fetch medicine. She seems like an unlikely choice due to her abilities, though she and Lucius are betrothed which is why she's adamant about going beyond the  village. Her father Edward (William Hurt) reveals a a few village secrets before she departs. The other elders chide him for revealing secrets and for sending anyone beyond the village. They had agreed that once they founded the village they would never go back. Edward argues the village represents hope for a better future, Lucius is part of that future, and thus they must help him.

Bryce Dallas Howard plays Ivy

The big question is what's out there? Ivy has been told about safeguards the village employs, but we don't know what they're guarding against or what she'll encounter. The fact Ivy is blind only adds to the tension. It's a movie that feels built for a twist. Whatever Ivy encounters, she won't be able to see it and the audience will. We'll discover whatever 'truth' is out there, but Ivy will never be able to reveal it. The principles of why this village was created are disclosed just as Ivy reaches what lies beyond. This revelation is the precursor to many, many questions.

Bryce Dallas Howard plays Ivy

The movie is twist first while wondering if the world could be more peaceful if civilization didn't advance and instead maintained a simpler way of life. We see this village that thrives as a community because it's less advanced. The question is the cost to maintain it. The village only continues by employing strict rules to keep inhabitants insular. It keeps people safe but unaware of the world. One incident starts to topple the rules, and once we reach the twist this stretches credibility.

Part of the problem is that Shyamalan movies are all built on the big twist. This movie is a victim of his successes and expectations. It's discounted due to the backlash over his prior movie Signs which fell completely flat once you began thinking about the twist. His movies after The Village also had a big twist, but they weren't nearly as clever which casts a pall on his other movies, relegating them just to 'those movies with the big twist.'