There's a small, isolated, New England village at the end of the 19th century. In the woods surrounding the town there are creatures referred to as "those we don't speak of" who, paired with a healthy fear of "the towns", keep the villagers secluded. The reveal comes in two parts. One, the creatures are actually the village elders perpetuating the myth to inhibit the desire to leave. Two, the village is actually located in a walled nature preserve in the modern day, they are not in the 19th century but the 21st, the elders created the village to get away from violence and heartbreak and the seductive immorality of modern day living.
The criticism stems not from the film but from the deviation from expectation. The Village appears at first glance to be a supernatural thriller, this idea was exacerbated by writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's reputation and prior films. He was well known for his plot twists but even better known for fantastical elements in his films. The Sixth Sense- ghosts, Unbreakable- superpowers, and Signs- aliens. The Village used the idea of its creatures to build suspense and evoke a mood. The audience was disappointed not because of the context or content of the movie but because we expected the creatures to be real because it was an M. Night picture. On the tail end of that reveal people felt betrayed, by the second revelation that it was modern day people were enraged. Not because of anything the movie was but because of what we thought it would be. Subversion of expectation can be good but in the case of The Village and the over zealous Shyamalan-hype-generator it back fired.
The Village has a hypnotic score, a thick and emotional mood, evocative period language, a restrained yet vibrant romance, and complicated crisp performances(Adrian Brody's garish mentally impaired manchild excluded). It deserves to be remembered for what it is not what people thought it was going to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment