Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Joaquin Phoenix playdl Lucius Hunt, and Bryce Dallas Howard (below) plays Ivy Walker in “The Village," M. Night Shyamalan’s newest thriller. THE VILLAGE A film by M. Night Shyamalan cj ★★★★★ out of BY STEVEN VAN HAREN j THE (JAMECOCK “The Village” is an intense, Hitchcockian painting of human emotion fueled by fear, masterful direction and devastating per formances. M. Night Shyamalan creates a universe perpetually on tilt where nothing is as it seems and the truth is hidden in layers of imagery, dialogue and dead ends. He’s right at home in his usual scary stomping grounds, dropping a handful of 19th century townsfolk into monster-infested woods. The villagers have a passive truce with the clawed beasts lurk ing outside their borders: They won’t intrude into the monsters’ realm, and the monsters won’t have them for dinner. Joaquin Phoenix trembles with intensity as Lucius Hunt, a quiet loner who asks to travel beyond the town’s borders to get medicine for the village’s ailing children who are dying from an unknown ailment. The town council fears his intrusion would upset the delicate balance of predator and prey, not to mention land Lucius in a monster’s stomach. Lucius interrupts his brooding only for Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard), the blind daughter of village mayor Edward Walker (William Hurt). Ivy’s tomboyish charm and loving nature seem to stir something deep inside Lucius. Lucius’ desire to go outside the borders perplexes his mother Alice (Sigourney Weaver). Only village idiot Noah (Adrien Brody) seems to find the creatures exciting rather than dangerous. He j laughs giddily when they howl and scream from the woods. The quiet Walker wracks his brain to keep the truce intact as animal carcasses pile up and bloody marks appear on the villagers’ ,; homes. Shyamalan is a writer of the human condition. Who expected him to use aliens as examiners of faith in “Signs”? The power of “The Village” comes from the characters’ struggle with para normal and personal demons, not from the gallons of blood an other director would splash obnoxiously across the screen. The trio of acting triumphs in “The Village” rivals that of “Mystic River.” When the characters’ idyllic lives are threatened, their psyches begin to fray, and every character is close to break ing down. Phoenix delivers his best performance since his turn as the twisted Commodus in “Gladiator.” His cleft-lipped whispering is both content and tragic. He moves like a quiet force waiting to explode and makes Lucius’ profession of love to Ivy a burst of unimaginable longing. Their interaction is the emotional heart of the movie. Howard’s Ivy moves with strength and beauty, and she stirs her fear into bravery with believability. Howard makes Ivy the Samwise Gamgee of the film, drudging through the mud with ab solute necessity, her walking cane slapping wildly about. William Hurt is a troubled sage, carrying the weight of the vil lage on his shoulders as he struggles with the very sanctity of the town’s truce. His impassioned plea to the town council near the end of the film shows Hurt coming out of his usual stoic acting shell. Mgoumey weaver is tne weaK unit oi tne cast, reaa ing her lines like she’s auditioning for “Little House on the Prairie.” Only when she bounces off Phoenix and Hurt does Weaver come close to the conviction she embedded into Ellen Ripley. Shyamalan’s underrated camera work is a godsend. He consistently devises clever scene angles that truly richen the movie. Instead of using quick flashes of the monsters, Shyamalan whets the audience’s appetite and then indulges it in a woods sequence with the sick reality of a nightmare. Being a student of Hitchcock’s work has served Shyamalan well; he uses an unexpected plot device from “Psycho” that creates two protagonists. Audiences have come to expect a twist ending from Shyamalan, but his climaxes are always the cherries on top of the emotional mountains he coaxes from his actors. For being a monster movie, “The Village” is completely immersed in its human participants. “Shyamalanian” is the perfect way to describe it. Hopefully, this adjective will someday mean more than just ghosts and goblins, be cause Shyamalan is a mas termind. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockfeatures@ gwm.sc.edu I |quaHt^jeai^inc^973 I K1= L7Y 1215 Wayne St. (in the Vista) A Welcome Back Students Colombia's Largest Outdoor Outfitter -Long Johns, fleece jackets&Vests -Men & Women’s hiking boots -Light weight rain gear -Tent, Backpacks & Sleeping Bag Rentals -Climbing Gear -Flyfishing Dept Light Weight Traii Running Shoes by: North Face • Vasque ■ Montrail 1215 Wayne Street (in the Vista) ■ Columbia, SC 29201 • 803-799-7571 M-Fri: 10-6:30 ■ Sat: 10-6:00 ■ Sun:1-5:00 ^( www.backpackerqualitygear.com f .- «■. .> Dorm Room carnet Cheap! zz * EXAMPLE: 12x9 room = $63. gq F( COGDILL Carpet Mill Outlet -g. OPEN MON-SAT 9 AM TO 6 PM m F-mail Aririrpcc- flnnrinn(a)r.nnHilk nnm i_:___i