do not enter THE VILLAGE

Title:
The Village (B)
PH Release Date:
Aug. 11, 2004
Actors:
Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson
Written & Directed by:
M. Night Shyamalan
Editor / Music:
Christopher Tellefsen / James Newton Howard
Design / Photography:
Tom Foden / Roger Deakins
Producer:
Scott Rudin / Sam Merzer
Studio:
Touchstone and Buenavista

“Let the bad color be seen--- it attracts them…..
Never enter the inbox, that’s where this waits…..
Heed my undeniable desperate cry for readers… so read!!!”

The master of Indian terror is back with another mind-boggling thriller that twists like any twister candy. This time, he’s not sharing the stories of the dead people or the aliens, but the tale of the red-cloaked creatures we do not speak of (the ones who takes it off in the blinking lights). He directed this film (like he always does) and well, he could have asked somebody else to write it.
Joaquin Phoenix plays the role of Lucius (I wonder if that’s the right spelling), the gutsy overweight man (he’s fat in this movie) who’s in love with the blind benevolent Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard), who happens to be love by Noh (Adrien Brody), the psychologically perturbed. Their typical love story will lead to the premature twist (twist #1), the predictable twist (twist #2) and the monotonous ending (no twist # 1).
M. Night Shyamalan indeed have a talent for writing and directing suspense movies. He’s very creative and imaginative. In this movie he proved that. This movie was spooky, at times uproarious and most definitely passable. However, from someone like him, I expected something better, something as good as what I saw in the trailer. Something that will really make me jump off the edge of my seat, something that will outsmart me, something more than satisfactory.
I guess it was the story and his innate desire to make twists that made this movie average. His directing skills are definitely above average, he definitely knows how to use the lenses and make the most out of his scene, so that leaves us with the storytelling. It was in that sort that he lost his audience. It seemed too perverted.
Technically speaking, this movie was awesome. The camera work was outstanding. The photography was gaudy. The music, man, during the opening credits I was crept out, it was chilling. The editing was great too. There were quite a number of scenes that I truly believe was brilliantly executed. One was after the “don’t let them in” scene (spoil #1), that was wow… another was “the looking for the stabbed one scene”(spoil #2), that was marvelous.
Speaking of marvelous, Bryce has truly proven that she deserves to be an actress and her family name is just the icing on the cake (her father is Ron Howard). For her first starring role, she did magnificent. The role was perfectly her. The two scenes I mentioned earlier, they’re both hers. I cannot wait to see her again. This was her movie.
Oscar winner Brody proved how great he is in character acting. He was very convincing. It’s a pity that he’s stuck with supporting roles cuz he’s not really that bankable as an actor.
While Joaquin Phoenix is the lead star in this movie, among the three, he was the most barely discernible. You’d barely notice him. Half of the movie, he’s bedridden (I spoiled it again, it’s really hard), and he’s character wasn’t really the most boisterous one. The mature actors with them did just fine, be old and act old.
In general, this movie was okay. It’s really hard to describe it sensibly cuz I may spoil it to you. It may disappoint you if you’re expecting a more profound story. You may be dissatisfied with the less bloodcurdling and the dragging storytelling. It will probably test your patience especially during the second half of the movie but in a way, you’ll enjoy it too, cuz it’s visually satisfying. But if you’re expecting a Sixth Sense type of flick, better not enter the woods, cuz it’s where disgruntlement awaits.