The Village

The much-anticipated film was an over all success. I really wanted to see it and I hyped the thing up quite a bit for myself, yet, as always, I was ready to rip it apart at the first sign of weakness. I want things explained only when they absolutely must be and when they are, it has to be done with a masterful touch. Don't make me feel like you're explaining it. Make the details unfold naturally so that I'm enlightened to what I did not know as if I'd discovered it myself. That was the one weakness I found. But I liked the rest of the film so much that it was easy for me to dismiss that. The actors were amazing. Bryce Howard is going to be a star and should earn some awards for her performance as should Brody and Phoenix for theirs. The veterans William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver seemed to be just laying a foundation for the riveting performances of the younger actors.

I'd like to deconstruct the story (but I won't spoil anything) because after the stunning plot twists have lost their novelty, the story itself could use a little work. It is not well-propelled; the reason for having a story at all is a little unclear to me. As for the much-talked-about questions that are supposedly raised without explanation at the end of the film, I can't begin to fathom what they might be. As I said, everything is pretty well summed up.

That said, I still liked the film very much and it's worth seeing again. It's Shyamalan's first good film since Sixth Sense. Of course, I liked Waterworld, The Postman, What Dreams May Come, and Bicentennial Man a great deal too, so you're going to have to be the judge for yourself.