The Village

M. Night Shyamalan follows up on the success of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs with a familiar yet still unpredictable formula.

The Village is the latest film to be released by M. Night Shyamalan who has made his name in the space of a few, short years with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs. The director has come under fire recently due to his constant use of the same structure that governs his movies, cinema goers now go to his film and wait for the twist. Unfortunately The Village is no exception in that it follows the same pattern, but the fact remains that this is a highly enjoyable and well made movie.

Shyamalan proves once again that he is the king of suspense, using simple tricks to leave your heart beating like a train moving across tracks, and I for one loved the spanner in the works at the finale. To put it simply you know what you're getting with his movies, but The Village eclipses Signs and is a welcome return to form for the director.

The movie takes place in an isolated village in Pennsylvania, where the townsfolk are cut off from the rest of the world because of a truce that holds between the villagers and the creatures living in the forest. There is such a fear of the beings that inhabit the woods that the close knit community's lives are governed by appeasing the beasts: the village boundary is not crossed, offerings are made and someone is constantly on the lookout for their appearance.

After the death of his friend, Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) decides that he wants to venture across the forest in order to fetch fresh supplies of medicine but his enthusiasm is met with disdain by the council of elders. However a chance crossing of the boundary throws their lifestyle into disarray and threatens their very existence, the village is thrown into turmoil and a sequence of events is put in place that will change their lives.

M. Night Shyamalan's offerings are always atmospheric affairs and The Village proves to be no exception; while the movie may be wrongly marketed as a horror flick, it still keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat. He uses a variety of techniques to achieve this, a combination of music, camera angles and sound effects raise the tension and your blood pressure.

I really liked the film's soundtrack which was quite reminiscent of wind chimes in points, it added to the suspense in the forest because it gives that constant feeling of movement. As a result there is a sort of disorientating effect and, like the actors, you keep looking around as you're not quite sure where you stand. This is superbly illustrated in Ivy Walker's (Bryce Dallas Howard) scenes as the character is blind and noises are all she can go by, the effect is further compacted by the camera's constant movement and the desired result is achieved.

The director's choice of camera angles are his forte as you can never quite be sure of what you are seeing. Just like in Shyamalan's previous film, Signs, the viewer never gets a good picture of the creature; they're always just after moving out of the shot or from the side, but never straight on. This leads back to the effect of the soundtrack as you always seem to be moving in a circle and this promotes the feeling of being lost in the woods, so it gets to the point where the mere suggestion of the forest is off-putting for the viewer.

Sound effects are used to promote this running theme also; there is the low wail of the creatures or the sudden snapping of a branch, but on either occurrence you cannot pinpoint where it came from. It all makes for some wonderfully tense scenes as the viewer is constantly left on edge, never sure what to expect and Shyamalan ultimately succeeds as our imagination begins playing tricks on itself.

Despite the fact that this film followed the same structure as the director's previous efforts, I left the cinema highly impressed by the ending. Of course not everyone will enjoy it as they may feel cheated out of an experience, but I found its simplicity and how the film ended with a certain continuity to be quite imaginative. While The Village follows the director's overused pattern, the lead up to the finale was more enjoyable because there weren't so many obvious clues left out for the viewer like in Signs. For example there aren't hundreds of glasses of water left lying about as though it were an attempt to show off in front of you, it's simply not a case of your being too stupid to 'get it'.

Instead the movie distracts you and lulls you into a false sense of security; by the finale you're following the story with such certainty that when Shyamlan's grand unveiling comes about, you are left completely gobsmacked. Of course its effect is dimished somewhat because, let's face it, we were all waiting for the twist. Even still it's not as stupid as aliens being real, so the viewer still gets to leave the cinema on a high note. What impressed me most about it was the fact that it wasn't simply a case of one secret being uncovered; there was dozens of little connecting details that put the entire story together.

I have been alluding to my single complaint against The Village the entire way through this review, it is the fact that Shyamalan insists on releasing the same kind of film over and over again. I walked into this movie expecting a twist and I wasn't disappointed, there it was just like just like I thought. The only reason why the film succeeded was because the surprise ending proved to be quite imaginative and some strong performances from the great cast. Unfortunately the finale didn't make the impression it should have, simply because the film's structure is an overused formula.

At this point I am crying out to Shyamalan to make a different kin of film; anything, I don't care. It doesn't matter if it is a sports, action or even a porno flick, just as long as he doesn't put in a twist at the end. If the planned sequel to Unbreakable had gone ahead he could have gone back to films like Signs or The Village and gotten a better reception. Instead cinema goers pay into his films just to try and guess what is going to happen at the finale, it takes away from his work as it defeats the purpose of a surprise ending. Everyone knows something is going to happen and it's simply a case of waiting for it to occur, there's no surprise. It's just like watching the same magic trick over and over again, it may be enjoyable but you've seen it all before.

The Village's cast is a veritable who's who of Hollywood, ranging from Joaquin Phoenix to Sigourney Weaver. In fact it's amazing to see someone like Weaver in such a small supporting role, if anything it enhances the director's reputation. All sorts of people pop up in the film, even unexpected faces like Judy Greer who we last saw on screen in 13 Going On 30. I quite enjoyed Adrien Brody's portrayal of a mentally challenged young man, it is a pleasure to see the qualities that won him an Oscar on display once again and my mind goes back to the first time I saw him in Summer of Sam.

You just can't go wrong with this movie when it comes to the acting talent on display; there are dozens of talented professionals littering the screen at every moment. It features Brendan Gleeson, William Hurt and Michael Pitt, all seasoned stars, and some of them in rather secondary roles. They all give stirring performances adding to the depth and quality of this movie, evoking a variety of reactions from the viewer depending on the scene they find themselves in.

However the real star of the show is the relatively unknown Bryce Dallas Howard. There is something vaguely familiar about her and it's worth checking her surname again, as she is none other than Ron Howard's daughter. Now before you go saying that her father in some way landed her the role, it is worth pointing out that Shyamalan actually cast her without an audition because he was so impressed with a performance he witnessed on Broadway. I'm sure her father may have gotten her some breaks, but is his daughter's brilliance that landed her the gig. She plays Ivy Walker, a girl blinded for most of her youth but who has remained a very strong willed, young lady. She just oozes charisma but that must come from her godfather - The Fonz.

The young actress really does take centre stage and is responsible for the film's success; despite being a relative unknown, she leads the viewer across the screen and plays upon his emotions. Some may find it difficult playing a blind character but her performance brings the phrase 'The blind leading the blind' to mind because her skills bring the resounding feeling of disorientation to the forefront and play to Shyamalan's strong points. Single-handedly, she wraps all the suspense and tension into one little ball and performs tricks with it like a talented soccer player. There is no doubt that she will go onto to have a fantastic career and after this performance I eagerly await her next appearance on screen.

Ignore what critics have been saying and give this movie a chance. If you've enjoyed Shyamalan's previous efforts then you'll definitely love this, I'd easily rank it above Unbreakable or Signs. Even though the director uses the formula that he is synonymous with at this stage, the ending still proves to be quite imaginative.

Piaras Kelly
Editor, Kikizo Movies