| Overall Grade: |
A+ |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A- |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A |
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Don't Get It (Plot) Twisted; It's A Brilliant Film
by Evan (movies profile)
Jun 30, 2008
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3478 people found this review helpful
Every negative review of "The Village" has been based on the dissapointment of the "twist" and the ease of suspecting the Village's true secret so early in the film. These same critics, Ebert included, are so focused on their assumption of M. Night's reliance upon a plot twist that they fail to relize that the director purposefully and intelligently chose not to rely solely on a big plot twist (like Sixth Sense and the far worse, Signs).
Instead Shyamalan chose to create a brilliant metaphor, displayed in the film's entirety, and throughout its peices (the actors and atmosphere): control, through fear and the power of myth. This film is somewhat the antithesis to Signs. Signs was all about the power of blind faith in religion (good premise, but cheesily executed) while The Village is about the very real dangers of that same blind faith that belies the usage of such power. The viewer learns near the end that violence is a part of human nature (nature period) and not confound to any particular town or society. Equally, benevolence exists in these same areas regardless of predjudices. It touches on so many levels: political, religous, and social.
The acting is perfect for the mood and atmosphere, the cinematography of the village and forest is gorgeous, and the message is completely relevant.
Yet all critics can seem to talk about is "how the plot twist isn't surprising." The audience is looking more for the plot twist than for a good movie as shown in the following Washington Post's criticism.
"It's no way to see a movie, because you're never unself-conscious enough to let the drama work on you; you're concentrated on the game. And at a certain point the whole exercise is rendered anticlimactic: The only suspense left is whether you got it right or not," (Stephen Hunter).
I took this into consideration before seeing the movie and the drama worked wonderfully for me. No, the surpise is no surprise, but more importantly a purposeful piece to a well crafted puzzle.
See "The Village" for a good movie with a thought provoking message, not for a reinvention of "The Sixth Sense." The real surprise will be how much you can enjoy a movie if you maintain an open mind. |
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