The Village – Film Review

An Amish-style community lives cut off from the outside world by the woods, in which they believe dangerous creatures exist. They have an uneasy truce with the creatures – if they stay out of the woods, they are left unharmed. When one of the young villagers becomes ill, the boy who loves her ignores the elders of the village to make a bid to the next town to fetch medicine.

There’s a certain sense of unease in M. Night Shyamalan‘s The Village that never lets up, even when the massively divisive twist is revealed. Despite the fact that mostly the entire movie takes place during the bright of day, it’s still one of the most atmospheric movies I’ve ever seen, and also, a movie I’m always going to defend adamantly.

In my opinion, many people hate on this film because of the marketing, and that’s not hard to see why. The marketing made it seem like this was going to be some incredibly scary horror film where a group of creatures stalk their way through a village and murder everyone, slowly but surely.

That’s not what this movie is. Not even a little bit. Instead, it’s kind of a psychological period drama thriller that takes its time to lead up its big reveals. Even if you hate the twist that’s revealed later on, you have to give the movie credit for doing a solid job crafting a ton of suspense and unease.

For the entire movie, you’re left to wonder what exactly is “Those of Whom We Do Not Speak?” The movie definitely gives us definitive answers, but whether or not you like it is entirely your opinion. Shyamalan has always been a filmmaker who hasn’t been afraid to take risks and big swings.

Even some of his films that I don’t like, I have to give him credit. He simply doesn’t care about whether or not it will work with everyone. If the twist works for him, he’s going to do it, and I have to give the man major props for sticking to his guns no matter what.

And, just in case you were wondering, I kind of love the twist that’s revealed in the movie. It makes so much sense and fundamentally changes the way you watch the movie on repeat viewings. Does it make things a little less creepy? Yes, of course. But for the type of movie Shyamalan was going for, it works immensely well.

It’s also a film that boasts some truly stellar performances across the board. Joaquin Phoenix is great in the role he’s given, but I’ve never understood why he got top billing for this film since he’s really not in it all that much. The real star of the show here is Bryce Dallas Howard in the role of Ivy Walker.

This role was Howard’s big break, and it’s not hard to see why Shyamalan saw such a promising young talent in her. She is asked to do a lot here (including acting blind) and it obviously needed to have a skilled actor attached to the part, and Howard certainly rose to the occasion.

The movie also looks utterly fantastic, shot expertly by my personal favorite cinematographer, Roger Deakins. Nearly every frame in The Village looks staggeringly good, to the point where you could honestly hang any frame from this movie on your wall and it would tell a compelling story.

The Village is a hugely daring and unconventional period thriller, excellently told by M. Night Shyamalan, and featuring a star-turning performance from Bryce Dallas Howard.