Film Review: The Village (2004)
- Very Average Joe
- Nov 8
- 3 min read
Title: The Village
Director(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Screenwriter(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Studio: Blinding Edge Pictures & Scott Rudin Productions
Released: 2004
Runtime: 1h 47m
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt
Set in 1897, the plot follows the lives of those living in a secluded village surrounded by woods. Village life is idyllic, except that there are monsters in the woods, “Those We Don’t Speak of”. There is supposedly a truce: the villagers don’t enter the woods and the monsters don’t enter the village.
Since the village is surrounded by these woods, the villagers do not leave. Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) wishes to go to the nearby towns to get medicine which the Elders led by Edward Walker (William Hurt) are reluctant to permit.
Later, Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard), Edward’s younger daughter who is mostly blind and is Lucius’s love interest, makes the same proposal.
The film is not strongly plot-driven, nor is it character-driven. It is mildly slice-of-life, setting up the characters, their way of life and their relationships. It may be tempting to think that the narrative lacks direction but it constantly reveals something and the plot does move towards Ivy making the trip into the woods in the final act.
There is obviously the fairy tale influence with the forbidden woods and Ivy being a figure of the Little Red Riding Hood, except red is the dangerous color that attracts the monsters and yellow is the “safe color” the villagers wear.
Without spoiling by going into details, the film is heavily thematic, such as the protection of the innocence of individuals and society. It explores the question of what the dangerous “monsters” that threaten society are, and what means are justified by parental authority to achieve that. And, of course, there is the issue of individual choice of whether to conform or not. To what extent can one justify “ignorance is bliss”? It is interesting that Ivy is the most capable and arguably perceptive despite being blind.
It is easy to criticize the choices made by the Elders but Shyamalan does well at presenting them and their views with pathos. Much of that is also due to the performances, particularly by Hurt. As a result, it is also difficult to entirely disagree with them. After all, they established this village as a place of safety which they have in many respects achieved.
Visually, it is shot nicely, with good use of tight shots that focus on the characters’ intensity. It could use weird camera angles more often but that is not Shyamalan’s style, at least not always. The darker scenes are lit wonderfully. These scenes really do convey the comforting and, paradoxically, eerie atmosphere of oil lamps in rural life.
The score composed by James Newton Howard is excellent. The genre calls for a more classical approach and this is tastefully done. The score is apparent enough to augment the mood and to be enjoyed but never overdone so that it is jarring.
Given the genre and that it is a Shyamalan film, it obviously has a twist or two. Thankfully, there is signposting right from the start. Overall, it is an intriguing film with some good suspense. It arguably can be a few minutes shorter but that is no big deal.
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