The Village (2004)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

30 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Their Days Of Peace Are Over (Denmark)

Plot:

The population of a small, isolated countryside village believe that their alliance with the mysterious creatures that inhabit the forest around them is coming to an end.

Plot Keywords:

Village | Woods | Creature | Pact | Town

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Ivy Walker
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Lucius Hunt
Adrien Brody	...	Noah Percy
William Hurt	...	Edward Walker
Sigourney Weaver	...	Alice Hunt
Brendan Gleeson	...	August Nicholson
Cherry Jones	...	Mrs. Clack
Celia Weston	...	Vivian Percy
John Christopher Jones	...	Robert Percy
Frank Collison	...	Victor
Jayne Atkinson	...	Tabitha Walker
Judy Greer	...	Kitty Walker
Fran Kranz	...	Christop Crane
Michael Pitt	...	Finton Coin
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Jamison

Also Known As:

Grey (Philippines: English title) (review title)
M. Night Shyamalan's The Village (USA) (promotional title)
The Woods (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for a scene of violence and frightening situations.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | Brazil:14 | Japan:U | India:UA (cinema release) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2004) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Centerville, Delaware, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [M. Night Shyamalan] [twist ending]

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Ivy enters the woods to get help for Lucius, off in the distance through the trees you can see a pole with a bell on it, used by the villagers for warning purposes. This has been mistaken for a telephone pole and the bell as a transformer.

Quotes:

[first lines]
August Nicholson: Who'll pinch me to wake me up? Who will laugh at me when I fall? Whose breath will I listen for so that I may sleep? Whose hand will I hold so that I may walk?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "South Park: Imaginationland (#11.10)" (2007)

Extremely Underrated (NO SPOILERS)

M. Night Shyamalan definitely did himself a disservice in releasing "The Sixth Sense". Brilliant as the film was, its "twist" ending was so powerful that audiences the world over expected nothing less from the talented young director. And so, Shyamalan has been trying with every single outing since to recapture that sense of awe.

Although many have made scathing remarks about the ending of "The Village", it is perhaps his most perfect since "The Sixth Sense"; though by no means a huge surprise, it nevertheless settles into the ambiance and leaves the film with a tinge of melancholy that belies the trailers.

It is a film of startling imagery, with a theme of 9/11-inspired innocence versus corruption that creeps into the mind and stays there until it unfolds over and over again. Many have called the acting "wooden", but a second viewing of the film would change that opinion; it is, after all, part of the point. Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron's daughter) lights up the screen in an astounding premiere performance as the blind Ivy, Adrien Brody delivers a searing portrayal of longing as the dim-witted Noah and Joaquin Phoenix heightens the moody tone with his strong, silent-type Lucius. "The Village" is about these people, this community living in fear, not the monsters of which they have been warned; it is about the psychology of fear rather than a horrific portrayal of it.

It must be said that the only thing wrong with "The Village" was the promotion for it. The adverts made it seem like a thrill-ride of Gothic horror, like the scariest film yet to be filmed - and audiences were running in their droves to catch yet another Shyamalan Twist. Instead of investing their emotions in the characters, viewers kept their distance in the knowledge that they would be hoodwinked, that the entire thing was a set-up to catch them out anyway. Wrong as this is, it was ultimately the undoing of the movie; had it been promoted as a thoughtful, stark, moody piece of film-making, then both the critics and the public would have been satisfied.

This is not a film about The Twist Ending, but about wrapping its beauty around your mind, and the quiet, haunting finale is what helps to keep it there.