The Village is an interesting concept: a bunch of people dressed in age old grab prance around doing the usual chores of yonder, with antiquated hands-on tools, fear the colour red, and speaking ye olde English. They have no connection with the outside world, and never have visitors, nor are they allowed to to traverse beyond a certain point near the woodland area. For many years they’ve lived a peaceful, quiet and humble life. A time when coloured people didn’t exist.
Now I’m not making this out to be a racist film in anyway. Seriously, it was a sign of the times where the white folk stuck with their own kind, and where anyone of colour was probably relegated to living in bucket about 40 miles away but expected to get up in the morning and start slave working. This film is no way racist, and my remarks aren’t totally sarcastic. So taking away the racist pretence that some may have or assume, due to the all white cast in an all white village, The Village is not that bad a film as it goes.
When a villager dies, Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) confronts the elders of the village to allow him to enter the woodland area, and visit the town in order to bring back medical supplies in order to help prevent other deaths that may occur. Time after time he is refused, regardless of his noble intentions. Amongst the elders sits his mother (Sigourney Weaver) who also resents Lucius constant attempts to persist in his pursuit.
After refusing the hand of marriage of the lead elder, Lucius journeys on a personal conflict involving both love and nobility to do the right thing. It’s his heart’s desire to help the people of the village, regardless of what other people assume. He’s very timid, and this is the first time he has come forward to make such a request.
Part of the reason for denying his request is due to a certain bogeyman figure that appears at night, donning a porcupine back and a red cloak (the colour they fear, and cannot use). This they refer to as The Ones We Do Not Speak Of. Or something to that effect; even then it’s a mouthful. These creatures have recently stirred trouble, particularly since some have attempted to venture the woodlands. Lucius himself has walked in and out around the rim, and it seems the trouble has grown worse since. When the dung hits the fan, the elders must decide whether they will allow someone to gather supplies by communicating with the people from the town risking everything they have worked for in their way of life.
As stories go, it’s not that bad for all the panning it’s received. I think most are disappointed by the sheer averageness of the film, and also because they were duped into thinking this was a film of scares as the trailer suggests. It is an average film for many reasons, as the story is rather mundane and not particularly gripping. Everything is predictable, and the so called enigmatic twist at the end is not so much a twist or a revelation as it is a wet fish being slapped in your face. It’s one of those moments that either ruins the film for you, or will turn it into a classic. There’s no middle ground, and no compromise. There are bits that you will like, or you will love, but in the end it’s disappointment or sheer exhilaration. Shyamalan is either a genius, or a charlatan. For me, he falls in the the latter box.
The problem is not with the acting – that’s pretty impeccable throughout and some great performances. The issue, as with almost all of his films, is the story telling. It’s pretty rubbish. It’s like having Alice from Alice in Wonderland go through the mirror, and meeting a T-1000. It’s a surprising ending, but one which doesn’t really satisfy me. As I said, it’s neither a revelation nor a wonderful twist. It’s a bit wet. OK, not all of it is a surprise, because by half way through he film, you’ve already put two and two together, but really you want confirmation. My problem is, this story is not extraordinary. It’s sort of like an extreme version of the Amish. So what’s new? Not a lot.
There’s a message in there, one which you could view as a metaphor for the events that take place, the reasons they take place and why The Village was created. The monsters are thus a metaphor for the outside world, the Townspeople who have forced them to create this inbred, self-reliant society. The actual maths of the generations that live there don’t actually add up, but suspending disbelief, The Village exists, and there is a message as to what it represents. For that, credit to the director for making a rather bold statement with desperate measures.
It’s well made, and has some nice production values. Direction is great, and the control of pace and romantic liaisons throughout are enjoyable to watch. I didn’t feel the cringe or cheese that many felt, and at times I did feel for the characters. It’s almost as though he’s decided to create the ending and then create the film from that. The limited use of CGI is also welcome, but just as the alien in Signs was a bit of comedy, the same is true of the bogeyman that inhabits the woods and causes trouble in the village. It’s enjoyable comic relief.
One of the problems is, this mentality of, “Now, let’s have an ending which provides this, and then think of an idea of how to get this ending into a film.” Or worse, “I can’t think of ending, so this will do.” It works, but not the way you want it to. Ultimately it’s a massive let down and does ruin the whole two hours of watching the film. It puts to pains any enjoyment you might have felt, any drama that had been built and any tension with a conversation killing end.
Up to that point, up to the point it all becomes this damp revelation, the film is not that bad at all. Performances are what carry the film forward. Joaquin is no River, but he’s definitely developing into his own, and very much a different kettle of fish. Bryce Dallas Howard was much better in the second half of the film, and actually convincing as a blind girl in love. In the first half, she behaves and acts as one with sight, which sort of makes a mockery of the whole idea. Adrien Brody as Noah was sublime; a mentally handicapped adult who is in love, and also the friend of Lucius. William Hurt is always great, the man has more charisma than can be contained, and it oozes from him. I think the only downer was Sigourney Weaver who seemed out of place, and I expected her to start brandishing a pulse rifle and screaming “get away from her you bitch” every five minutes. She can act, but she doesn’t flow with the rest of the cast here.
The story is particularly rushed towards the end, where we hear in a voice over, and few flashbacks of what was found (so damn predictable). There are several areas which are washed over with gimmicky replies, to provide some logic to the cause, and it doesn’t work. The script just isn’t very tight. There are no plot holes, just very poor reasons for certain situations and examples which are far, far to coincidental and convenient.
With a few more revisions, and better script writing, this film would have worked much better. As it stands, I found a disappointingly average film. The idea is a good one, in some respects, the ideals are even better. Directing is great, and there is some great cinematography in play, but a weak script, dubious answers, and some comic moments place this in the average bin for me.
Verdict: Sadly average, with the potential to be great. A film made in a rush?