The Village [2004]
Although it is pitched as a thriller (which it is), The Village works so well as a drama. There is just one minor plot hole among splendid writing from much-maligned M. Night Shyamalan. The Sixth Sense is his most respected film, and with good reason. It put Haley Joel Osment on the map and made the genre respectable again with a nomination for ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars. But, for me, The Village contains Shyamalan’s best plot twist. It’s his most visually appealing, as well, with exquisite cinematography by Roger Deakins, known for working with the Coens. The diverse cast blends movie stars with character actors: Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Judy Greer, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Pitt and Brendan Gleeson all appear. But it’s Bryce Dallas Howard, in her breakthrough role, who carries the movie in a flawless performance as ‘Ivy’.
M. Night Shyamalan hasn’t made a good film since “Signs”. This was the beginning of his downfall and he’s never recovered in my opinion. I agree with you about one thing. Roger Deakins’ cinematography is, as always, stunning.
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I honestly don’t see why people hate it. I think it’s a very good movie. I loved this back when I was a teenager but I re-watched it this week and found out I still do. I guess Shyamalan is very polarizing.
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Plan on seeing it soon. Nice review.
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Thanks. You actually inspired me to watch it again.
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Definitely not as bad as some people make it out to be, but the only movie of his I could ever really watch again after knowing the twist is Sixth Sense. Nice review!
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Thanks!
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I really liked this movie, This may be the last of his good films. I really tried to like Lady in the Water lol. I have not seen this since it first came out, might have to try and give it a rewatch.
nice post
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Thanks, man! Lady in The Water was not good. The Happening sucked as well. Didn’t even bother with The Last Airbender.
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Agreed, Lady in the water was bad and the Happening was god awful. I took a pass on the the Last Airbender as well 🙂
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Great review! I’m a big fan of M Night Shyamalan (I think I may be the only person that loved Lady in the Water!) and loved The Village. I think it could have been made a little scarier at the end though, but still his trademark twists kept me more than entertained. I certainly feel the need to revisit this one!
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You’re actually the first person that’s ever told me they’re a big fan of Shyamalan and actually loved LITW. I didn’t think it was THAT bad but I didn’t like it either. Haven’t seen The 6th Sense in a long time, but my favorite of his is The Village. You’re right that it could’ve used more scares but I just love the twist ending.
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I love LITW so much; I lent it to someone last October and haven’t had it back yet. I’m thinking about buying it on BR though. I do love his work, although Signs was a little disappointing. I’m yet to watch Devil so I’m looking forward to that, even though it had mixed reviews
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I couldn’t agree more. One of the best films of that year. Haters can hate all they want! Nice review, glad to see some Shyamalan love on here!
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I like this movie a lot and Bryce is just wonderful in it, she is one of my favorites and I’m still waiting for her to get the deserved praise, I haven’t seen her give bad performance.
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I agree. She’s a very underrated actress.
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