Rating: ★★★★ (4.0/5)
One of the things I love to ask people who I know are film fans is, “What M. Night Shayamalan movie was the last one you enjoyed?” The reason is that there are people that think Unbreakable was the last good movie he did. Some people give up at Signs. Others make it all the way to The Happening before they throw in the towel. For me, The Village is the last good movie he made. Up until Split of course.
We went back in time recently to watch this movie with my son, who loves creepy stuff and seemed like this would be right up his alley. I honestly had forgotten quite a bit of the movie, remembering only nuggets of the story. Turns out the nuggets I remembered were really all I needed.
This movie is covered in imagery and metaphor. The “bad color”, the idea of humans attempting a Utopia, Noah being special needs and effectively the most innocent, and Ivy being blind but also the bravest of all of them.
I think a lot of people are turned off by this movie because the twist is fairly obvious. There’s enough in the dialogue to tell you that these people are not actually living in colonial America or whenever they are trying to convince you they are living. So I think a lot of people are watching and just waiting for the twist without really engaging with the material.
The whole point of the movie is that people who were hurt tried to create a world with no crime. They had a belief that with enough structure, and if isolated, they could make a world that was beautiful. But in doing so they were hurting the villagers. We even begin the movie at a funeral for a child whose death could have been prevented by medicine. But natural death seemed to be “okay” with them as long as it kept them isolated.
The whole charade ends painfully when Noah, who is the most innocent, mortally wounds Lucius over a girl. Noah was jealous of Lucius’ engagement with Ivy, thinking he was going to lose his best friend. It’s incredibly tragic and absolutely obliterates “the elders” resolve at holding on to the illusion. The chief of the whole group effectively gives in and sends Ivy through the woods to get medicine to save Lucius.
There’s monsters in there too but I just find them way less compelling. In part because we know they are fake and just a ruse to keep everyone in the village and afraid of the woods. They look cool, but they aren’t as interesting to me as the rest of the story and what’s going on.
I really love this movie. Even after watching it so many years later. It’s still good. After this movie, M. Night brought us Lady in the Water and lost me. I didn’t like another movie he was involved in until Devil and then finally Split really brought him back to the forefront.
I still think he’s a good filmmaker when he’s on it. I’m glad he made this, and I hope he can get back on the saddle again and bring us something as fresh and interesting.