Movies: The Village - review

Set in rural Pennsylvania in 1897, this is the story of the small village of Covington (population 60) surrounded by a woods inhabited by a race of "mythical creatures," and the romance that blossoms between Kitty (Greer), the daughter of the town's leader (Hurt), and Lucius (Phoenix), a young man who questions the policy of keeping Covington's citizens completely confined to the village.

Genres: Drama, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 48 min.
Release Date: July 30th, 2004 (wide).
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for a scene of violence and frightening situations.
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures

I watched M. Knight Shyamalan's - The Village, this Friday. What a fantastic film. It captures you with peoples desires, a bit of innocence, fear, and love. The story is fantastic, the acting is unbelievably good, and the character of IVY is both strong and cute. The film shifts plots very well halfway through the movie, and sounds (sound effects) once again play a major role in this film, just as they did in Signs. Probably the nicest surprise comes at the beginning of the film as the opening credits role. The ensemble cast is extraordinarily well put together, so much so that you fear they might compete with each other. Thankfully the cast co-exists gracefully on screen.

I will not spoil the film for anyone who still has to see it, and I suggest that you do not listen if someone tries to spoil it for you. The movie captures you early on with the mythical beasts surrounding the village, and then continues to hold you, as you watch the characters display a variety of emotions through their ordeals, and eventually are releived of see a happy ending.

I was enthralled throughout the whole film, so much so that I watched every additional feature on the DVD. Although this is a DVD which I will probably not own (story is given away; therefore not as exciting the second time), I hope to remember the story and the awesome qualities of the film for a long time to come.

As it displays many of the same qualities as SIGNS, the director's previous film; I will say that if you enjoyed signs (which I did) you will probably like this film. If you disliked Signs, you probably will not.

I dont give grades to movies, but this would be an A in my book.

This post was originally written for and posted on my Modblog blog. Since that was recently taken down, I wanted to repost it.