Movie Review: The Village (2004)
Synopsis: The blind Ivy Walker lives in an isolated 19th-century Pennsylvania village with her family, living in peace with the other villagers and falling in love with Lucius Hunt. The villagers, however, live in fear of mysterious creatures living in the surrounding woods, attracted by the color red and any attempt to cross the boundary. When Lucius is injured and near death, it becomes up to Ivy to brave the woods and retrieve medicine, a task that results in her learning the truth about the creatures.
Who's in it? The movie stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix Judy Greer and Adrien Brody.
Review: My wife is recovering from strep throat (one of the hazards of working at an elementary school) and since that pretty much means we have no plans this weekend as a result, we ended up watching The Village this morning. It had been a while since I had seen the film and as it turns out, it was better than I remembered.
Years after last seeing the movie, I remembered the twist ending which, at the time, I wasn't a huge fan of for some reason. However, even after still knowing the truth about the creatures and what is on the other side of the woods, I found there was still a lot about the movie I found I liked.
One of the big ones was the romance between Ivy (Howard) and Lucius (Phoenix). I found it intriguing because it involved not one, but two different love triangles because her sister, Kitty (Greer) loved him and Ivy's friend, the developmentally disabled Noah (Brody) was in love with her. It was a bit of a forbidden romance as a result and ultimately becomes the thing that drives the story.
Also, while it did lose a little something because I had seen how the film ends, the part about the creatures in the forest was well done. There's a great mystery about what they are and adds a nice element of fear, especially when someone breaks the rules.
Interestingly enough, once the big secret is revealed, Ivy's journey through the forest seemed even more dangerous because it was clear there were members of her community who would be willing to prevent their secret from being learned, even if it meant making sure she didn't return. The fact Ivy was blind only added to that.
Final Opinion: The twist ending does seem a bit farfetched (though my wife and I both agreed it wasn't such a bad idea) if you put too much thought into it. However, a solid cast and a decent plot do make this film worth taking the time to watch, whether it is for the first time for the first time in a long while.
My Grade: B+
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 2004:
Movie Review: Riding the Bullet (2004)
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