Movie Reviews

I have a huge amount of respect for M. Night Shyamalan. In fact, I took a course on Alfred Hitchcock last year at school, and in my final paper (on which I received an 'A') I compared Shyamalan very favourably to Hitchcock, the film-world's undisputed "master of suspense". So, I certainly had very high hopes for Shyamalan's latest suspense-thriller: The Village.

For the most part, I was very pleased with what he delivered. The Village is a smart, suspenseful, funny, well acted, and beautifully filmed movie, that also happens to be quite thought-provoking long after the credits have rolled. I can't stress that 'beautifully filmed' part enough. Shyamalan has an incredible track record when it comes to making good-looking films, and for The Village he takes that a step further by teaming up with Roger Deakins, one of the industry's most revered cinematographers (whose resume includes such great-looking films as Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption, The Man Who Wasn't There, and A Beautiful Mind).

There is something of a 'twist' near the end of the film, which seems to be a trait of Shyamalan's. I'm not sure if 'twist' is the correct word for it, however, as what occurs near the end of the film is more of a 'reveal' of certain plot elements that are essential to the film and add greater meaning to it overall -- unlike some 'twists' that offer little more than a superfluous "Surprise!" at the end of a film. The 'reveal' in The Village is smartly handled and quite thought-provoking.

If I have one complaint about the film it would be a complaint directed more towards Shyamalan himself. He has proven beyond a doubt to me that he is one of the greatest modern-day filmmakers; yet he seems to be writing himself into something of a corner. I fear that his films are going to become known solely for their 'twists', as I couldn't help but wait for what I imagined to be an inevitable twist to occur in The Village (and not surprisingly, it did). I really hope that Shyamalan tries something a little different with his next project -- maybe a straight drama or (I think this could actually work) a comedy -- to show everyone what else he is capable of, and to avoid being stereotyped as "that guy who does the surprise endings".