Category Archives: Films of M. Night Shyamalan
THE VILLAGE
THE VILLAGE-United States-2004
Joaquin Phoenix as Lucius Hunt
Adrien Brody as Noah Percy
Bryce Dallas Howard as Ivy Walker
William Hurt as Edward Walker
Sigourney Weaver as Alice Hunt
Brendan Gleeson as August Nicholson
Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
30 July, 2004; mark that date because it is significant for two reasons; the first being that The Village was released to theaters; the second is that it was the day that the first nail was driven into the coffin of what was the career of M. Night Shyamalan. I can’t believe I actually paid money to see this tripe. I should have asked for it back but I figured enough people had done that already and I didn’t want the poor theater manager to have a breakdown.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard more stilted and wooden dialogue from so many talented people in one film. There’s Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line), Sigourney Weaver (Alien), Adrien Brody (The Pianist), William Hurt (Children of a Lesser God) and Brendan Gleeson (Gangs of New York). Each and every one them delivers their lines with the conviction of a sixth grader playing a shepherd in a Christmas play. The only time I remember seeing acting this wooden was Phylicia Rashad in The Cosby Show (“Cliff. Why. do. we. have. four.children?”) and Hayden Christensen in Star War Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (“Obi-wan. Why. do. we. have. four. children?” Sorry, couldn’t resist.) The only silk purse this sow’s ear of a film has is the sweet, understated performance from Bryce Dallas Howard (Spider-man 3).
The Village revolves around the citizens of a small isolated community. There is no crime and none of the trappings of modern life such as cell phones, televisions and personal computers. There are just three basic rules that every village must follow: 1. Do not let the bad color (red) be seen. It attracts ‘them’ 2. Don’t go into the woods; it’s where ‘they’ live. 3. If you hear the bell hide yo wife, hide yo kids ’cause ‘they’ is coming.
Who is this mysterious ‘they’? Come on, this is an M. Night Shyamalan film. To tell you would give away the tedious little plot twist he has for us at the end of the film. The twist that if you listen closely enough was already telegraphed midway through the film. The whole twist thing worked great with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and semi-great with Signs; but by the time The Village rolled around it was less ‘surprise us, Night’ and more ‘oh, for crying out loud, just tell the damned story already!’ Of course we all know how that turned out (*cough* Lady in the Water *cough* The Last Airbender *cough*). I can only imagine that Shyamalan’s epitaph will read something like this:
Here lies M. Night Shyamalan, film director
He directed three good movies and then
OMG! What the hell happened?
TRIVIA
Kirsten Dunst was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard after dropping out to star inElizabethtown.
The director cast Bryce Dallas Howard without an audition after seeing her perform on stage.
Sigourney Weaver suffered nightmares for two weeks after reading the script.
The inspiration for the story comes from two unlikely sources: “Wuthering Heights” for the period drama, and King Kong for the community living in fear of predatory creatures.
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SIGNS
SIGNS-United States-2002
Mel Gibson as Rev. Graham Hess
Joaquin Phoenix as Merrill Hess
Rory Culkin as Morgan Hess
Abigail Breslin as Bo Hess
Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
At first glance, ‘Signs’ would appear to be just another science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth. But one thing that has always been clear up to this point is that M. Night Shyamalan has never given us just one glance at anything. There’s always more lurking just under the surface. With The Sixth Sense it wasn’t just ghosts and Unbreakable was not just about a guy with super powers. ‘Signs’ is no different; there may be aliens and crop circles, but its central story is about a man who had faith in God and then lost it only to regain it when he comes to the conclusion that everything, no matter how trivial or tragic, happens for a reason. We may not know what that reason is at that particular moment, but there will come a time when we will know and that time will be when we need to know.
Mel Gibson is the Reverend Graham Hess. At least he was a reverend until his wife was taken from him by a random and fatal action. After that Graham has been angry at God, turning his back on Him and on his congregation. He lives a quiet life as a farmer with his two young children, Morgan and Bo, and his brother Merrill, a pro baseball hopeful whose problem was swinging at everything that came across the plate. Graham’s idyllic life on the farm will soon come to a screeching halt when he finds crop circles cut into his cornfield. At first thinking it to be a hoax, he soon finds himself in a desperate struggle to protect his family from an alien threat.
‘Signs’ is one of those rare films that work on both the level of what we see and the level the director wants us to see. As with his previous two films, Shyamalan shows us that he is the modern day master of the Hitchcockian twist. The trouble is, after two previous films, and Signs, that novelty is beginning to wear thin. ‘Signs’ is the last truly good film from Shyamalan and the last great performance from Mel Gibson. Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin and a quite young Abigail Breslin are a talented supporting cast. Whether or not you believe in God or any other higher power in this universe, Signs is a film that makes you think.
TRIVIA
Joaquin Phoenix replaced Mark Ruffalo, who had to pull out of the film due to a brain tumor. It was later found to be benign.
M. Night Shyamalan insisted that the film posters be released without showing Mel Gibson’s face, as it is an ensemble piece, and that it didn’t refer to The Sixth Sense, as it’s an entirely different movie.
The stories of the children’s birth are actually the stories of M. Night Shyamalan’s two children.
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