The Village

Synopsis: Covington is a seemingly idyllic small little 19th century village where the people are all friendly and kind to one another. The village is run by a gang of strict elders who are not interested in having anything to do with the bigger, dangerous and crime-filled neighboring townships. But the villagers couldn't make it to a town even if they wanted to, due to the dangerous creatures in the surrounding woods. However, there is an understanding with the creatures: if the villagers don't breach the border, then the creatures will leave them alone. When Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) is thinking of going through the woods to get to a town for medicine, the creatures threaten the villagers as a warning. In an unrelated incident, Lucius becomes badly hurt and needs medicine in order to survive.

The most outstanding thing about this film is newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard's performance as Ivy, a young blind woman whose warmth, compassion and integrity shine through all she has to endure. The actor's performance is hypnotic and she takes over the entire screen, even managing to upstage the hugely talented Phoenix. But even her exceptional performance doesn't manage to free this film from its cumbersome shackles.

Shyamalan does successfully keep a suspenseful air of menace throughout - just when the relentless happiness of the villagers gets boring, the creatures are on call to add atmosphere and tension. Despite a couple of disappointing plot holes he is a great director, getting some excellent performances that make his dodgy scripting still feel real. Joaquin Phoenix somehow manages to inject palpable emotion into the unfortunate formal and stilted dialogue that everybody is saddled with, Adrien Brody as the disturbed and retarded villager thankfully doesn't milk it, William Hurt plays a wise William Hurt well, Sigourney Weaver does a nice line in stoic single mothers, and Brendan Gleeson manages to convincingly portray emotions through the ridiculous lines he is given.

A beautiful romantic scene between Lucius and Ivy is perhaps a hint to Shyamalan as to where he could go in his next movie. Give up on the thrillers with a twist and try a romance. The relationship between Lucius and Ivy is well worth exploring, as is the exquisite URST (unresolved sexual tension) between the Hurt and Weaver characters.

There are some points about manipulation, fear and freedom that Shyamalan seems keen on making, however he only barely touches the surface and in doing so, dissipates what could have been some powerful statements. Overwhelmingly, this film leaves you with the 'so what?' feeling, its themes all too briefly and rapidly touched on without really sinking its teeth into the meatier material it purports to address.

 

 

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