The Village – Denying Grief

The Village is a movie that demands you watch it twice. After watching the first time about eleven months ago, I found myself confused – unsure if what I had just seen made sense. Upon my second viewing now, I am ready to confirm it does.

The film starts as an ensemble piece, detailing the lives of many villagers in the hamlet of Covington Woods. They grow their own crops and keep to the confines of their village, for there are creatures in the woods that will kill any who wander too far from home…

The characters are richly conceived. Shyamalan deftly cuts between multiple characters for the first half of the film, building out his world and giving many points of view of life in the village. Among others, we meet: Ivy Walker, a blind woman played by Bryce Dallas Howard. Lucius Hunt, a quiet young man played by Joaquin Phoenix, just off his performance as Merrill Hess in Signs. Noah Percy, a mentally handicapped man played by Adrian Brody. And Edward Walker, the patriarch and founder of the village, played by William Hurt.

The more the film continues, the more the story focuses on Ivy, who is the most interesting and compelling character in the film. Her stories involve romantically pursuing Lucius Hunt, caring for the children of the village, her relationship with her sister, her friendship with Noah, and seeking her father’s approval and praise. It’s a lot to balance story-wise, but M Night pulls it off.

The town council, the adults who built the village, did so for a reason. They left other towns to come here to grieve for losses in their life. Most of them lost people – spouses, siblings, children – and built this village to start over. They came to deny themselves of their grief, which as the film demonstrates, can be a dangerous thing.

Another key aspect of this film is “Those We Don’t Speak Of”, the name given by the villagers to the creatures living in the woods. At the start of the film, they find skinned animals in their fields, a warning from the creatures. Many of the young boys play games on the edge of the forest, fighting fear that the creatures will attack. When there is a sighting, the village will sound the alarm and everyone will rush inside for safety, lest they be attacked.

The score for this film, composed by James Newton Howard, is incredible, enough so to be nominated for an Oscar. Similarly, the cinematography is top notch, every shot invoking the setting and tone of the film. You would expect nothing less from cinematographer Sir Roger Deakins. This film marks his only collaboration with Shyamalan.

Much like The Sixth Sense, the color red has a lot of meaning in this film. When red flowers are discovered growing in the village, the villagers immediately pluck them and bury them, so as to not attract “Those We Don’t Speak Of”, as these creatures are said to be attracted to the color red. When we see the creatures in the film, they wear red. Red is associated with death throughout the entire film.

In true Shyamalan fashion, there is a great twist or two in here that I will not spoil. It’d be best to watch for yourself. This film is a bit unsettling at times, but soldier on and you will be rewarded with a fulfilling story to think about for a long time to come.

Shyamalan Rankings:

I liked this movie a lot, but I didn’t love it. I’ll slot it in at number 4 for now.

1. Signs
2. The Sixth Sense
3. Unbreakable
4. The Village
5. Wide Awake
6. Praying With Anger

Next Friday, I’ll be reviewing Shyamalan’s next film, Lady in the Water, which I have not seen before. Stay tuned!