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Twisting that twist
by Joe De Matteo August 2005
Super
M.
Night Shyamalan, whom I kept forgetting to look for
in this film, gave us a ghost story that tricked us.
Then he gave us a supernatural superhero that was a
regular guy. And we bought both stories, hook,
line and sinker. With The Village, he
gave us a twist, and then kept twisting, which had
some folks at HugeReviews.com fall off the M. Night
Shyamalan band wagon. |
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Michael Flanagan calls it Wimpy (see his review
below), Christian De Matteo didn't want to write
about it. I have to be honest, because of
their feelings about the film I stayed away from it.
It was on Cable the other night, there was nothing
else I was interested in, I didn't think I'd like it
much, but I was in a "kill some time" mood, so I
started watching in.
I liked it; I liked it a lot. After the
first fifteen or twenty minutes I thought I was in
dumb horror movie. However, before I knew it,
the movie was nearing its end, and I was hooked.
You should know that I'm not a horror movie fan.
I don't mind seeing people dieing on screen, but I
want them shot, crushed or blown to bits in and
action/adventure film or sliced in half, or other
fraction, in a samurai flick. |
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don't like the walking dead jumping on screen one
moment after I relax in my seat, simply because my
muscular system cannot take anymore of the tension
brought on by the suspense. I hate that,
mostly because it makes me jump two feet out of my
seat screaming like a girl. I'm sorry, I've
got pride. I'm old, I may be drooling and
passing gas with a smile on my face before long, but
right now I'm still in control and I have enough ego
left to feel embarrassed when people see me
screaming like an eleven-year old female. The
Village is another well made Shyamalan movie.
Once again, Mr. Shyamalan told me a story I couldn't
guess, until he wanted me to. And, after I was
confident I knew it all, he through something out of
left field at me. It all tied up into a neat little
package that i enjoyed very much.
I'm waiting for the next M. Night Shyamalan film,
but until then I'm adding The Village to my
Shyamalan DVD collection.
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The Village Idiot
Savant
aka Everybody Gets Just One
by Michael Flanagan
Wimpy
I have loved every M. Night Shyamalan movie since The Sixth
Sense. That's how all these reviews seem to
start--with some need for comparison that is, frankly, just
as unnecessary as it is ubiquitous. To fairly judge a
movie, as a movie buff in the basement, is to look at that
movie as that movie, and nothing else. Sure, he made
movies before. Chances are, he'll make more. But
sometimes, you get a bad Dorito, all on its own, and this
one is flavored The Village. The movie is
professionally directed in every scene. The acting is
as superb as you would expect from the cast. The
thematic elements that lie underneath--what a culture of
governed fear means, what is human nature, what is society's
true fault--all of these are very strong and very well
represented in the movie. The problem comes
in the way all of these are delivered through a week,
imbalanced, unstructured screenplay. Characters are
practically stock. Those who are allowed to do more
don't go anywhere, such as the relationship between William
Hurt and Sigourney Weaver. Cherry Jones is even more
wasted. Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Howard play off of
each other wonderfully, until Phoenix is taken out of the
equation and Howard is left to carry the movie on her
shoulders. The problem is, removing a main character
unexpectedly is a narrative device that can work when an
audience is given room to mourn, and given a story strong
enough to replace it. Yet not only is the audience not
allowed to mourn, but the character's MOTHER isn't!
Aside from Howard, no one really has an emotional reaction
to this event, which is surprising when you take all twist
factors into consideration. Speaking of twist
endings, and I can do this without giving anything away, the
ending doesn't work. Not because of any leap of logic
or separation from plot, but because the horrible Exposition
used to describe it, along with the fact that everything
before the twist was mostly boring and unnecessary (mainly
after the Sonic scene). Poop. |
