Review of The Village (2004) by Cheyne L — 24 May 2013

In my opinion, this film represents the high point of Shymalan's career .. 'the village' is my favorite film of his increasing disappointing canon .. the success of his previous films allowed him to create his most artistic and personal picture .

. 'the village' is a daring film, it's plot is the most cohesive and well-thought out of all of them, with a twist ending that many found disappointing, but at least it was somewhat possible and packed a punch, compared to the terrible science of 'signs', and the reserved pacing and obvious ending of 'unbreakable' .

. the creatures are terrifying, even though we rarely see them, this is all for the better .. there is a truly sinister and controversial nature to the creatures, even more so once we find out their true origin, and although I guessed the ending, both of the creatures reveal and when and where the story takes place, I still found the film a great experience .

. Bryce Howard is phenomenal as a blind girl driven by love to overcome the worst fear I would think imaginable .. Juaquin Pheonix is also great as the soft spoken boy pining for the affection's of Howard's character, although he doesn't know how to express it, his frustration coming across almost as hatred .

. it's complex, beautifully shot, scary, heartwarming, and poignant, although, I wish the social commentary aspect was a bit more developed, other than that, it's a great movie ..