The Village -- 2004

The Village

(2004)

directed by

M. Night Shyamalan

PG: frightening scenes

My Rating: 5 stars

Joaquin Pheonix

Adrien Brody

Bryce Dallas Howard

William Hurt

Sigourney Weaver

Brendan Gleeson

The gist of the story is this: a village set in the 19th century fears an evil lurking in the forests around their small valley. Due to a certain set of circumstances, one of their number must venture out to the Towns to get medical supplies.

The story is told in such a way that it is a great mystery. I will not give it away and spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I must say that I was surprised several times. I did have inklings at one point but somehow, the director cleverly cleared them all away from my mind, then thoroughly surprised me with exactly what I had suspected earlier.

The first ten minutes of this film, I was rather disappointed because I found that most of the actors weren't saying their lines well. It sounded like they were reading them or repeating them from memory. Actually, what it really seemed like was that most of the actors hadn't 'become' their characters yet. But as the ten minute mark passed, so did my negative criticism. The actors and their characters made a complete merging and the movie became a work of genius on all counts.

That being said, I must digress for a moment: Adrien Brody and Joaquin Pheonix were excellence from start to finish. I never thought that Adrien would look so good insane but he's a genius at whatever role he plays, be it playwright, soldier or madman!

For those who love a good mystery, unique story and a lovely, sweet romance, this film is for you. The scariest thing about it? That the story might be true.

I'm now looking for M. Night Shyamalan's other films. :-)