Village Idiot: The Case Against M. Night Shyamalan

Slate ^ | July 30, 2004 | Michael Agger

[BluegrassScholar]

I see mean critics.

[pikachu]

I enjoyed his new movie. Not to give away the 'twist in the plot' but I could see how THAT could be set up

[Recovering_Democrat]

I liked "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs". No one told me I had to like them...I went to the movies and watched them, and enjoyed. Sounds like a media critic with a wee bit of jealousy to me.

Now, applied appropriately, are the words to that great Toby Keith song "The Critic":

Tell it like it is

He gets up real early on his mornin' drive
Down to the office for his 9 to 5
He drives a 94' two tone economy car
Loves to tell the local bands down at the bar
That he's the critic, yeah I can hook you up
I know everybody in the business

He flunked junior high band he couldn't march in time
He tried to write a song once, but he couldn't make it rhyme
He learned 2 or 3 chords on a pawn shop guitar
He just never quite had what it took to be a star
So he's a critic I work for the gazette man
I got a real job

He did a 5 star column on a band you never heard
He did a bluegrass review without an unkind word
He thought it was time to ask his boss for a raise
His boss said I can't even tell if anybody's even readin' your page
yeah

So he thought and he thought a little more
He caught a young hot star headed into town
Then he hid behind his typewriter and gunned the boy down
Here come the letters, the emails, the he faxes
They raised him to 20 thousand dollars after taxes
He's a happy critic yeah
He's rollin' in the dough
Man I could do this forever
This is easy
They're all readin' my column
Please don't tell my mama
That I write the music column for the gazette
She still thinks, that I play piano down at the cathouse

[BipolarBob]

I see Democrats. Voting from the grave.

[marty60]

Boy this guy really must not like M Night personally. this is one personal hit piece.

[Rummyfan]

He lives outside of Philadelphia with his wife and children and insists on shooting most of his films within a day's drive.

No one ever faulted Woody Allen for setting virutally all of his films in Manhattan! I see jealous critics.

[johnny7]

Paranoid greenhorn with money. Lives like a little prince surrounded by bodyguards and those who sweep up behind him. Real P.O.S.

[Taliesan]

Apparently this critic doesn't like his movies. But part of the argument against them seems to be that they work. I think.

[Mr. Jeeves]

I thought "The Village" was OK. The actress who played the blind girl Ivy was outstanding.

[CaptRon]

He coaxed a good performance out of Bruce Willis by essentially requiring him not to act

Think this line has anything to do with Bruce's politics?

[Shooter 2.5]

Thank you for reminding me why I hate critics.

Man In The Arena
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

[dawn53]

I like his movies. I especially liked Signs.

My hubby and son saw The Village, they said it was more of a romance than his other movies and not as scary as Signs, even though there were a couple jump scenes.

My nephew has a t-shirt that says: "I see dumb people"

[dawn53]

I just read that the actress that played the blind girl is Ron Howard's daughter.

[TonyS6]

I saw "The Village" last night. It really should be retitled "The Village Idiot."

I liked "The Sixth Sense." I didn't care for "Unbreakable." I liked "Signs." I hated "The Village."

Why? Without revealing the plot or any of Shyamalan's expected surprises, I will simply say the following:

1. The acting was terrible. William Hurt acted like he was on drugs. Sig Weaver was equally as bad. Most of the cast acted as if they were told by Shyamalan to "act Amish" and they gave their performances based on stereotypes of the Amish. Bryce Dallas Howard as Ivy Walker gives an excellent performance as the blind girl in the village.

2. Rod Serling's estate should sue (and maybe hire John Edwards to do it!) I have seen variations of this plot several times in the old "Twilight Zone." So, there is nothing really new here.

3. There is a complete lack of logic to the film. After the film is over, we had a lengthy discussion about the serious flaws in the movie [you will have the same discussions if you see it].

SPOILERS: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!!!!!! AND NO SPAMMING ME IF YOU READ PAST THIS POINT AND HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!

Logic fault #1: Who would really send a blind girl into the woods with the instructions "Walk through the woods for a half a day until you find the hidden road, then follow it to the towns." What direction should she walk? Since she can't see, how does know which direction to go? How does she stay on a straight path? How does she find the hidden road? Which way does she go on the hidden road? Does a blind person walk as quickly as a non-person (so would it be a full day for a blind person)? What does she do when she gets to the towns? How does she retrace her footsteps? Shyamalan answers this by having Hurt tell her: "Follow the creek." Well, we never see or hear the creek (at least I didn't see or hear it). Yes, I understand why Hurt sends the blind girl, but in reality no one would REALLY send a blind person on such a journey.

Logic fault #2: The preserve is a restricted airspace. That is supposed to assure us as to why we never see any airplanes or helicopters. C'mon! You mean that none of the kids in the 1890's village ever saw jet trails at dusk or the twinkling lights of aircraft at night? Nobody saw a single hiker, a troup of Boy Scouts, people on dirt bikes, etc.? For 20+ years? Jeez.

[Lee'sGhost]

"He lives outside of Philadelphia with his wife and children and insists on shooting most of his films within a day's drive."

So? I mean, who cares? What does that have to do with anything?

All this blah, blah, blah, and not one word about whether the movie is any good. Yo, Agger,here's a quarter. Call somebody who cares.

[Puddleglum]

Seems like the M. Night Shyamalan hit squad has been turned loose on this movie. He must've not ponied up for enough cocktail weenies at some critic's reception or something, now all the spoiled lapdog creativity washouts are enraged. I'll have to see the film now, I guess.

Seriously, I think they saw Signs and its Christian message and have been lying in wait for this film. Since they can't beat up on Mel Gibson they'll take a few turns whupping on Shyamalan so they can all feel brave.

[Sabatier]

M. Night's movies combine great storytelling + strong moral themes + huge box office = the liberal elite must hate his guts.
(Kind of like the way they hate Mel Gibson.)

[FormerACLUmember]

M. Night Shyamalan makes deeply spiritual, utterly unique psychological films. This critic is all wrong, as are the disappointed movie-goers who want and expect digital special effects monsters and mega-violence cartoons.

I thought the Village is one of the best movies of the year, but don't look for extreme violence.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

I liked "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs".

I thought both those movies were great! I stayed away from "The Village" simply because I was sick and tired of all the advertising. In your opinion, on a scale of 1-10, what would you give:

• The Sixth Sense
• Signs
• The Village

Thanks!

[gigi]

I heard over the weekend that the actress who played the blind girl was Ron Howard's daughter and that she stole the movie.

I think it was Bill McCuddy on Fox.