Shyamalan Spins A Great Yarn

Is M. Night Shyamalan, the writer-director of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, the next Spielberg?

I’m not talking about a similarity in style, but a parallel in terms of popularity and recognition. Spielberg, over the years, has built himself up as a brand name. It means something to audiences when a movie’s credits flash the words, “A Steven Spielberg film.” One could argue that audiences similarly go to Shyamalan’s movies not to see a particular star or even a particular story… they just go to see what he’s going to do next.

That theory is further propped up by his latest work, The Village, which opened at number one its first week with just over $50 million (more than double what the next most popular film, The Bourne Supremacy, garnered at the box office that same weekend) despite a lack of marquee names like Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson, the two stars who headlined Shyamalan’s previous films.

The Village boasts an ensemble cast of well-regarded actors, including Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt and Adrien Brody… none of them are exactly hot box office attractions. So, apparently, the draw is indeed Shyamalan… and the only question is once he’s got us, can he hold us once more?

As an unabashed Shyamalan fan, I can tell you I thoroughly enjoyed The Village. He continues to prove himself to be a skilled storyteller, a master of mood, pacing and atmosphere, as well as an underrated conductor of actors, coaxing more fine performances from his cast, including a star-making turn by newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of director Ron Howard), reminiscent of the eye-opening performance given in The Sixth Sense by then-relative novice Haley Joel Osment.

To be fair, however, there were also a fair number of audience members at my screening who got up at the end of the movie and basically bellowed, “What the @*#$ was that?” But I had that same experience when I saw Unbreakable and Signs, so that’s not new for a Shyamalan film.

Set (spoiler alert!), apparently, in an isolated 19th Century society, The Village features Phoenix as the quiet but noble Lucius Hunt, a member of this humble community who desires to breach the borders of their territory in order to gather needed medicines from other towns. The problem? The woods surrounding the village are the domain of mysterious beings with whom their ancestors struck a tenuous pact: the deadly creatures do not enter the village as long as no faction of the quaint society set foot into their forest. Hunt, convinced that one of their number, the mentally challenged Noah Percy (Brody), has already traversed the woods unharmed and with no ill consequence to the community, seeks the permission of the town’s elders (led by Hurt and Weaver) to undertake the dangerous task.

The Village, akin to Shyamalan’s previous efforts, is definitely old school. The methodical director refuses to capitulate to this increasingly digital and fast-paced age and continues to hearken back to filmmakers of old (Hitchcock, in particular, comes to mind here) by inclining heavily upon establishing an overarching mood and tone, and avoiding leaning on the tendencies of current directors to ground their films in quick cuts, breakneck pacing and a potpourri of CGI images. Shyamalan will not be rushed and his storytelling style demands that audiences not be told too much before being immersed in his tale.

Thus I’ll mention very little more about the film other than to recommend that audiences keep an eye on Howard’s performance as the blind but bold Ivy Walker; it’s a riveting portrayal that may turn Howard into a big-screen star.

The Village, rated PG-13 for violence and frightening moments, is also perhaps Shyamalan’s most romantic film to date. He diffuses some of the film’s creepier moments with some wonderfully moving, and sweepingly emotional sequences. I, for one, appreciate these, and other nuances of The Village, and look forward to what this intriguing filmmaker will do next.