The Village (2004): *

In The Village, the villagers live a simple life, cooking, cleaning, gardening and raising livestock. Only trouble is they are troubled by the obliquely named ‘Those we don’t speak of’, the creatures who lurk in the woods bordering the village, held at bay by a truce to not enter each other’s lands. Despite this, two villagers Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) and Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard) express a desire to go into the woods, so they can buy medicine for the village. Complications arise when the creatures start to threaten the village, leaving behind dead livestock and marks on their houses. 

There are a few elements which prevents The Village from being a complete waste of time. Roger Deakins’s cinematography may be the main sole reason to ever bother watching this film. Deakins’s night shots are full of menace, as the tree branches bear down over the characters’ heads, just out of reach from their grasp. The golden light from the oil lanterns provides some protection from the night, but only emphasises how pitch black the woods are. Scenes are carefully composed as the villagers gather to witness the latest disturbing incident, in long shots to further reinforce the ongoing fear within the village. James Newton Howard’s score is haunting to listen to, with violinist Hilary Hahn adding to the suspense and period setting.

A pity these few good aspects are wasted on this incredibly stupid and dull film. The child extras are practically falling asleep in the schoolroom scene, even as they discuss the slaughtered and skinned pig they found earlier. Every other decision is nonsensical: Why would you allow your daughter Kitty (Judy Greer) to declare her intention to marry Lucius, who is as dull as dishwater and has never expressed any admiration towards her? Why would you trust the village idiot Noah (Adrien Brody) to close the door? At one point, Ivy endangers the lives of the children she is looking after, so Lucius can prove his love for her before she’s grabbed by Those We Don’t Speak Of. The screenplay is terrible; full of ‘cryptic’ dialogue which is tries but fails to hide the painfully obvious to the audience. No-one can say the word ‘red’, it is only known as ‘the bad colour’. The villagers also apparently couldn’t come up with a better name for the creatures than ‘Those We Don’t Speak Of’. M. Night Shyamalan had to get his trademark twist into The Village and it is ridiculous, yet disturbing in its implications. There’s nothing like making your children suffer and die because you can’t deal with your past issues. 

No-one escapes lightly from being in The Village, maybe with the small exception of Brendan Gleeson and only because he barely features in this film. To defend the performances somewhat, they haven’t exactly got great material to go on, although it is only a partial excuse. Bryce Dallas Howard is the self-proclaimed tomboy Ivy, a magical blind girl who is loved by all, apparently has infrequent sonar capabilities and has the ability to see certain people’s colour. Joaquin Phoenix plays the solemn Lucius with massive communication issues and all the charisma of a limp salad. Oscar winning Adrien Brody crips up as the developmentally challenged Noah. You have to reluctantly admire Brody’s commitment to the role as he constantly giggles and claps and occasionally drools his way through the film, although perhaps someone should have gently taken him to one side and asked him to stop. All the actors are forced to deliver the dreary lines with odd intonation and weird pauses, to get across they really are in the 1800s, no really they are. 

Unless you are a completionist going through Roger Deakins’s filmography, The Village should be avoided as it is plagued by a terrible script and awful performances.