The Village

This movie received a lot of critical heat, it was contrived, they said, it was corny and obvious, this from the people who had viewers everywhere seeing Titanic five time a piece until it was the highest grossing movie ever, all TWA to say, they were wrong, this movie was good, in fact it was great. This, the 5th film by master of the silver screen M. Night. Shyamalan, follows the story of Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) and Ivy Walker (Bryce-Dallas Howard, phenomenal in her debut) who fall in love while Libyan gin the cloistered village in Covington woods. The villagers never go into the woods, and the mythical creatures never come into the village. The previews mad it look like a horror film, but while there are some spine tingling jumps and wickedly intense scenes, the true story is about Lucius and Ivy. I can't really tell much more, but I can point out some good qualities. As always M. Night uses the camera to convey his messages as much as, if not more than, he uses his actors and their characters. The music is great, and the plot moves at an excellent pace, never dragging, and never rushing so fast that you forget to appreciate the solid performances by all, except one. The word solid cannot even begin to describe the performance of Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce-Dallas Howard. As the blind heroine who overcomes incredible odds all for her true love, Howard shows her deep talent for acting like few leading ladies in recent memory. The movie is fantastic, there is really nothing more to say, and while the critics would have you believe otherwise, just remember "Titanic" and immerse yourself in "The Village" as soon as possible.

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