The Village
The Village
PG-13 | 30 July 2004 (USA)
The Village Trailers

When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.

Reviews
TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
sohn717 It's far from a perfect film, but I have to give it a 10 to combat the mediocre ratings because of a collective bias against M. Night's hit-or-miss films. The twists and reveals aren't as satisfying as those of The Sixth Sense, and there's some unfortunately shoddy editing in the climactic scenes (all those establishing shots of the forest take us out from the tension...)But this movie is my go-to example for how to portray romance. Writers take note. There are various forces that keep the two lovers apart from each other throughout; it's through DISTANCE, rather than through kissing and sex scenes, that keeps the tension strong. and that tension only adds to the thrills. And the violin score is equally thrilling, haunting and gorgeous. One of the most beautifully scored films ever.Does it deserve a 10? No but somewhere between 7.0 - 7.7 would be more fair.
jmillerjr-00983 I loved every second of this movie. The score was INCREDIBLE. The acting was excellent, the set was perfect. It's like Night made a movie for me personally. There is deep truth here about ingrained human depravity and how fear turns us hopelessly to isolation. M. Night is a genius. Loved Lady in the Water as well. Please, please, please make more movies like these.
mrstrangerjones I was enthralled with this film. M. Night Shyamalan has crafted a very atmospheric thriller and an interesting drama. I really liked the performances from Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, and (possibly my favorite out of the three) Adrien Brody. The story was also well-crafted.However, it was the plot twist that really made the film worse. (The one at the very end, not the earlier one)This felt kinda forced, and also dumb. However, since then, I have thought about it and the twist does make a bit of sense. It might not even be as dumb as I think it is.This is where Shyamalan dwindled, but I hope he comes back to his heights of "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" with his next film, "Glass".
Uatu the movie watcher I couldn't muster the amount of suspension of disbelief it would take for me to enjoy this movie. It makes absolutely no sense: So because the elders, intelligent university educated scientists and educators, didn't want to be confronted with violence, grief and fear again they isolate themselves in a village with no technology and without any contact with the modern world? This raises a myriad of questions: Firstly: Why can't they use modern appliances? I get that they can't use communication devises or television because that would connect them to the modern world. But why can't they use electric kitchen appliances, electric farming equipment, lightbulbs etc.? The children wouldn't know any better because they grew up in the village and have never seen the modern world. And for the same reason; why can't they use modern medicine? Secondly: Their refusal to use modern medicine has caused a lot of suffering in the village. Ivy went blind because they couldn't treat her and the movie starts of with the funeral of a young child who died because of the lack of treatment.Thirdly: The elders, the ones who came up with this crackpot plan, dress up like big demonic monsters and terrorize everyone in the village supposedly being triggered by the color red. Which means the villagers live in constant fear and destroy everything which is red. When the "monsters" attack the villagers have to lock themselves in underground hiding spots. This constant fear combined with the lack of modern technology and medicine makes their existence much more violent, miserable and fearful than it would have been if they had continued to live in the modern world. They would have been better off forming a gated community or a neighborhood watch rather than this non-solution which can only be described as hippy treehugger logic combined with cult fanaticism.Fourthly: Apparently Kevin pays the government not to fly airplanes over their village. I still haven't decided whether this is a dumber and more contrived plot device than Indiana Jones surviving a nuclear blast by jumping into a refrigerator in kingdom of the crystal skull. The idea that a private citizen can pay the U.S. government to reroute air-traffic and establish a no-fly zone above their village is completely ridiculous. It also doesn't prevent private citizens from flying over the terrain. So if you don't want any airplanes flying over your village you'd have to go to congress to explain your reasoning and the importance of the no-fly zone. In the extraordinary event that the US congress agrees and passes the bill, the bill would then have to be signed by the U.S. president himself to make it a law so that private citizens would also have to obey it. To make a very long story very short; not gonna happen! And I haven't even touched upon the lesser illogical, unrealistic and overly convenient plot devices. Like how convenient it was that they hid a suit under the floor boards where they tied up Noah and that he happened to know it was there. How convenient it was that the officer gave Ivy the medicine without asking too many questions about where she came from and that he let a blind girl return to her village without supervision so that the other villagers wouldn't see the modern police officer and his modern uniform and gun.But the one thing which really ticks me off about this movie is that it wasted the talent of Howard Shore, one of the greatest composers of our age. I find it criminal that such an amazing soundtrack, rightly nominated for an Oscar, has been squandered on such a mediocre movie.I give this movie a 5/10. The soundtrack really is its only saving grace.