Summary
Film of the week The Village (12A) 3/5 Dir: M Night ShyamalanWith: Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien Brody M Night Shyamalan's films are hard on critics. The writer/ director of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs has become so reliant on red herrings and shock revelations that it's very hard to discuss his films without giving away too much. I'll try to avoid any major spoilers, but if you want to stay pure it's best to avoid reviews altogether before going in.
That said, the fitful structure of The Village suggests that Shyamalan is trying to shrug off the tag of that guy who does big surprise twists. The most important revelation in the film could have been a stunning assault on our assumptions and expectations, had the story been structured differently. Instead, Shyamalan allows the information to rise gradually to the surface, which dulls its impact considerably. It's possible that this is simple clumsiness on his part; if, on the other hand, it's a deliberately downplaying of the twist in order to give precedence to the film's atmosphere and characterisation, he may be placing a little too much faith in the strength of his script.See the full content of this document
Extract
Scare in the Community; Cinema
The eponymous village is a tiny, self-sufficient enclave, bound by woodland on all sides. The period dress and vaguely archaic speech affected by the locals suggests the late nineteenth century, although there's also a distinctly medieval tint to things - there's a village idiot, for a start, and horned beasts dwelling in the forests (the villagers refer to these creatures as "Those we do not speak of", though in fact, in a nicely ironic touch, t...
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