Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
The Village (2004)
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Movie review
From Time Out London
There’s something in the woods in the latest from the director of ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Signs’ – and it turns out to be a hoary old chestnut. By now, we’ve come to expect creepy storytelling and, of course, a revelatory twist from Shyamalan, and he delivers both on cue in his first period piece. His particular interests here are self-preservation, security and conservatism – all key post-9/11 themes, of course – as explored in the story of a remote rural community in 1890s America. The people of this small village live simply under the strict control of a group of elders (including Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt) who forbid them to venture into the neighbouring forest. The villagers talk in fear of ‘those we don’t speak of’: creatures lurking among the trees ready to attack them at any time. At night, animals are mysteriously killed, and when one man (Joaquin Phoenix) dares to enter the woods, a retaliatory attack sends the villagers fleeing to their basements. I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice to say it tries to explain all this paranoia. For me, though, it was too much to swallow.Shyamalan toys with political ideas, but buries them under an illogical, rather silly story. I interpreted his ending as a celebration of American isolation and militarism, but I suspect that’s more a result of his confused thinking and concern for drama over debate than anything more deliberate. The only real draw is newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard who puts in a great performance as a young blind girl (even if her role is propagating the tired idea that only the blind can ‘see’).
Author: DC
Time Out London Issue 1774: August 18-25, 2004
Cast & crew
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Producer: M Night Shyamalan, Scott Rudin, Sam Mercer
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver full cast
Duration: 108 mins
Features
Gray's anatomy
James Gray wants to push buttons—again.
The next big thing?
Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.
Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema
So you think you can dance, comrade?
Puppet master
Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.
Socratic method
Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.
Wander woman
Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.
Oscars
Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.
What do you think?
Post your review now