CORPORATE LINE: In M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village,” the Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker who brought you “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs” assembles an all-star cast, including Academy Award-nominees Joaquin Phoenix and Sigourney Weaver and Academy Award-winners Adrien Brody and William Hurt, to bring the thrilling tale of an isolated village confronting the astonishing truth that lies just outside its borders. At first glance, this village seems picture perfect, but this close-knit community lives with the frightening knowledge that creatures reside in the surrounding woods. The evil and foreboding force is so unnerving that none dare venture beyond the borders of the village and into the woods. But when curious, headstrong Lucius Hunt plans to step beyond the boundaries of the town and into the unknown; his bold move threatens to forever change the future of the village.
THE GOOD: The Village is jammed with a fantastic cast. The film is quite eerie with or without the storyline.
THE BAD: The storyline falls apart. The problem is you go to see a scary film hoping to be terrorized and under the fog of night the film is nothing more than a story about love. That’s not a bad thing in essence, but when you sell it as one thing and give us something completely different it’s like pulling the old bait-and-switch. Shyamalan is notorious for stories that scare us and yet has tenderness. The problem with the Village is its not scary—at all.
Shyamalan had a vision and that wasn’t necessarily terrible. The utopia vision of the Village is an astonishingly interesting idea and you have to believe it could have been done in a better way.
FRANKLY: The Village is swarming with brilliant ideas. After leaving you wonder if you would want to live there or would be terrified once you find out the truth. Frankly imagine going to see Day of the Dead and you end up getting a movie about a love story that happens during the parade in New Orleans even though the filmmakers hinted that it was about zombies. It’s a huge let down.
+ Charlie Craine
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.