MovieChat Forums > The Village (2004) Discussion > Highly underrated! Warrants reassessment

Highly underrated! Warrants reassessment

posted 7 years ago by Renovatio (2990)
20 replies | jump to latest

i cannot believe the ratings this film has received. It is incredible and rewards repeated viewings.

More people should see this.

It was good to [spoiler]have the twist in the middle rather then at the very end, it allows us to contemplate what is going on... When you watch it a second time, the various themes of the movie come forward, pain pushing people to create a utopia, thought control, religious control, self determination, the inability to escape disappointment in life, etc...[/spoiler]

[–] MinaVladimir (4081) 7 years ago

I've seen The Village only once, when it came out, but I never understood all the hate it got. Maybe the twists in Shayamalan movies were getting predictable, and people were tired of them at that point. To be fair, they did get old at a point, but I did enjoy the film and liked it when I saw it.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 7 years ago

He stole the "twist" from a half-hour Twilight Zone episode. Pathetic.

[–] MinaVladimir (4081) 7 years ago

Really? I didn't know that (never seen the Twilight Zone). Besides that, I didn't hate the twist.

I think if you watch movies long enough, you're going to find similarities between things, intentional or not (even ripped off). What was that thing they say, there's nothing truly original? It'll be too bad if he flat out stole it from The Twilight Zone, though.

[–] Strannger (2007) 7 years ago

It does feel like a twist ending. But I heard theories the monsters are real.

[–] MinaVladimir (4081) 7 years ago

I'll have to watch it again to go more indepth here, but it looked very much like the people were wearing suits to me. I do wonder how they made those growling or clicking (whatever it was) sounds, though. I forget, was that explained? If not, that might account for why people think the mosters were real.

[–] Strannger (2007) 7 years ago

Instrumental sounds like clunking of gongs and using pullies.

[–] MinaVladimir (4081) 7 years ago

Aah, I see. Well, that explains that :)

[–] R_Kane (15828) 7 years ago

Oh, I don't hate the twist. I loved it the first time I saw it, on TV. A writer of M. Night's stature and income should be ashamed if he DIDN'T know it had already been done. He tries far too hard to SURPRISE! his audience, and I find his work boring and transparent. When The Sixth Sense came out, a friend was telling me about it. I stopped him and said, "Let me guess: Bruce Willis is dead."

[–] Strannger (2007) 7 years ago

I called it when he kept having self doubts or memories. No one spoke to him.

[–] Renovatio (2990) 7 years ago

The twist is not the key thing in the movie... even when you watch it a second time, fulky aware of the twist, the story is compelling... Unlike cynical movies today, it addresses the human attempt at creating a better (utopian?) society in a sensitive manner... the characters are faced with deeply moral decisions and wrestle with conflicting ideas and commitments...

Its also beautifully made... shot and composed in an eerie and haunting way but with real moments if tenderness... Pheonix is solid, Weaver is solid, Bryce Dallas Howard is such a sweatheart in this and nails her role...

Head and shoulders above most movies in its genre and towers over most critically aclaimed oscar movies of the past few years...

[–] Apis (1624) 7 years ago

I saw this movie on TV and wasn't even paying attention who the director is at the time. So I didn't expect any twists at all. I was very impressed with the movie but later when I checked reviews online, I noticed the (almost) universal hate it got. No doubt people expected something entirely different from the movie, thanks to Shyamalan's name being attached to it. I think there's a chance that, as the time passes, this movie is gonna receive more love from both viewers and critics, as it deserves.

[–] Renovatio (2990) 7 years ago

I certainly hope so... It seems there is still a lot of "hard feelings" when it comes to Shyamalan... I don't understand it fully, but it clearly clouds people's assessment of his movies

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 7 years ago

I pretty much like it too and saw it about 3 or 4 times. It's not awesome like The Sixth Sense, but it's not bad. The thing I remember that I hated was that the dumb ass movie reviewer Leah Rosen totally and completely ruined the twist!! When she was talking about it she said "The Village is APPARENTLY SET in the 19th century..." As soon as those words came out of her mouth, I knew immediately that [spoiler]the end would reveal that it's present day.[/spoiler] So that really pissed me off!! That big mouth!!!!

[–] TexasJack (12516) 7 years ago

That's why I almost never read reviews of a movie beforehand. Even telling someone that there is a twist is itself a spoiler, and reviewers just can't seem to help themselves . "...and you won't believe the ending!". It completely changes your mindset while watching because you can't help trying to figure it out.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 7 years ago

I hear you. This happened though when I was just casually watching CNN (or whichever of the news channels that she does her thing on regularly). But reviewers really should watch what they say/how they say things.

[–] PlaintiveMelody (245) 7 years ago

I agree, I have only seen it once. But I thought the themes you mention were all there. The twist and whether or not anyone could see it coming or not, didn't matter as much as the underlying messages of the whole film.

I think people get all caught up in the style of this film, while ignoring the substance. I need to really watch it again. I thought it was fantastic, and I am not a horror fan at all. I think the futility of Utopian thinking is really well done in this film. The disappointment of idealism, the foolishness of thinking reality can be controlled, are themes not often explored.

I suppose it depends on whether one is more into style over substance.

[–] TexasJack (12516) 7 years ago

Valid points. I find that I do appreciate it now more than when I first saw it. I rank it somewhere in the middle of his work, under Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and Split but above Lady in the Water and The Happening (his worst, by far).

[–] DuesExBiological (99) 7 years ago

I thought this was one of Sham's better Twist flicks mostly because the plot device serves as a highly important backdrop to the storyline. His other films like Signs, The Happening, and Lady in the Water have too much to prove and too much suspension of disbelief required for the audience.

The main problem with The Village is that it works better as an episode of a TV series than an entire movie.

[–] Hans-Wilhelm (1355) 6 years ago

My only complaint of the film is that I wish it hadn't been sold and set up as a horror film, if it just didn't have the monster in the forest who would get the villagers part to it. If it had just been set up as a time period piece from the 1700-800's and then had the "it is the present" twist at the end I would have enjoyed it more. The way it was set up with this horror, monster origin to then abandon that and turn it into the twist they did lessoned my enjoyment that I could have had for it if they had left the monster, boogey men in the woods set up.

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 6 years ago

I absolutely love this movie and have never been able to understand the trend of M Night bashing. He has only made two movies that I consider bad: The Happening and Last Airbender (three if you count After Earth). All of the rest (yes, Lad in the Water too) are exceptional films with complex characters and brilliant directing. I even give The Happening a half-pass for many excellent moments and some top notch acting from an actor I usually hate (Leguizamo)