The Village

Mr. Shyamalan suffers from megalomania but in the past that has served him well. He has been able to rescue an innocuous plot (Signs) or an overly ambitious one (Unbreakable) by sheer dexterity of his direction. However, this time he fails completely. Village is a weak, ridiculous film and it is terrible not just for that but because it refuses to enjoy its cocky pretension and insists on disrespecting the intelligence of its audience by piling on them half-baked plot elements and characters as interesting as blocks of stale wood. In the past his films have at least enjoyed tight plot progression and contain well knit events. In this film he wants us to just enjoy whatever he presents to us mostly because it is from him.

The only saving grace is Bryce Dallas Howard’s portrayal of the blind Ivy, the central character of the film. She is careful and brilliant serves the story better than it deserves.

Stay away from this Village.