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by Jim Holman.
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TALK ABOUT MOVIES
February 2006
THE VILLAGE
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt. 2004, 108 minutes, USA, English, Color. Available at Blockbuster Video.
Matthew: The elders founded the village in an effort to flee the violence and corruption in the world. They know their retreat will come at a price -- in leaving behind modern ills, they also leave behind modern goods like medicine. And they do seem to establish a kind of innocent, pre-modern world. But of course, there will always be violence in the heart of man, wherever you take it.
Ernie: If that's the point, then it was a mistake to portray the perpetrator of violence as a half-wit, because the half-wit is not fully responsible for his actions. Now, the point stops being that violence will always arise in the hearts of men no matter how much they sequester themselves, and becomes, "It would have worked out if not for the half-wit. Tough break."
Matthew: Let's allow for a little symbolism. It's fallen man who carries violence in his heart -- damaged man. The half-wit shows that damage.
Ernie: I think Shyamalan was a few inches off the plate with this pitch. Because Noah is incapable of true judgment, he's not culpable for the 'sin' he's committed. It was a bad choice for a symbol. Instead of commenting on how there's no escape from concupiscence, the movie hinges on mental retardation -- an accident of birth.
Matthew: But because Noah's not intelligent, he's not receptive to the formation the elders impart. Lucius suggests that if Noah got medicine, he might be able to be still and learn. Noah is nature, that part of man that will not be formed by education or by the standards of the community, but which often operates in spite of those things.
Ernie: I think he would have made a better symbol if he'd been fully rational but disobedient, refusing to submit to the uniformity of the village. He would have symbolized the tendency of man to reject the loving authority of God -- in this case, the elders.