An Open Letter to M. Night Shyamalan
Amanda and I saw The Village last night. We both had a lot to say about it afterwards, and I decided that my thoughts could best be expressed in a letter to the director himself.
Warning: I couldn’t write this properly without spoiling the entire plot. Don’t read on if you want to be surprised.
Dear. Mr. Shyamalan,
First off, I just want to say that I am one of your most hardcore fans. I regularly cite you as one of my favorite directors, I’ve seen each of your previous three movies more times than I can remember, and I can recite major portions of each. I even wrote a paper about you for my film class last semester. So I mean everything I’m about to say in the most respectful way possible.
All that said, The Village was horribly disappointing. The problem as I see it, Mr. Shyamalan, is that you’ve painted yourself into a corner. Your previous three films have each featured huge revelations in the last few moments, and you seem to be incapable of moving away from this format. The expectation of a twist at the end of each of your films makes it impossible to just appreciate the film as it unfolds.
The Village exemplifies your dependence on the format, and your desire to “kick it up a notch.” Each twist makes less sense than the one before it, until the story loses all credibility in the last couple reels.
Which brings me to the script. I understand that the language of the characters needs to match the speech patterns of 19th century America, but the dialogue is beyond stilted. I don’t want to call it “predictable,” necessarily, because some people probably didn’t see the end coming, but both Amanda and I were pretty sure that the film actually took place in present day within the first few reels. Our skepticism—our inability to accept the universe you created—stemmed, again, from your reliance on twists to finish your films.
Finally, a comment on your style. I’m going to come off as a snot-nosed, first-year film student here, but you’re trying too hard to be an auteur. The techniques you use in The Village don’t build on your previous three films: they duplicate them. I appreciate the fact that you’re trying to develop a style, but development implies some sort of change.
Every criticism I’ve listed so far could be remedied by taking a break from the suspense/thriller/”surprise ending” genre that you’ve all but perfected. Try directing someone else’s screenplay; maybe a romantic comedy. Get a different perspective. Then come back and wow us again. I believe in you.
Sincerely,
AJ Schuster
July 31, 2004 - 03:40 PM
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The temptation to read this is almost more than I can bear. Wait ‘til tomorrow, Nate, wait ‘til tomorrow!
An interesting letter. I actually didn’t find the dialect much of a problem, though it was apparently more revealing to you than it was to me. I was wondering in the first few minutes whether people spoke more precisely back in the day (I didn’t care over-much exactly when the “day” was), but in light of their rejection of society, simply abandoning casual language was certainly a plausible decision.
Also, did you think Signs relied on a twist? Certainly, there were surprises in plot, but not significant alterations in perspective. It was a straightforward, exciting ride. I thought its deliberate lack of circuitousness made it succeed as much as I thought Unbreakable failed—worse even than this movie did. Unbreakable was really GOOD up to the end and managed to destroy itself. This didn’t have quite as much momentum to ruin.
I’m not sure if Signs relied on a twist so much, because it would have been a compelling story even if everything hadn’t been pulled together in the end, but the way certain information was withheld until the end did make the story more effective. The information withheld in The Village was just stupid.
And I loved Unbreakable right up until the “Elijah Price was convicted on 567 counts of murder…” explanation at the end, but I don’t think it destroyed itself. A major flaw, yes, but not a fatal mistake.
I walked into this film, either not knowing or remembering who M. Night Shayamalan is, or what he has written/directed. Therefore, I wasn’t expecting a trademark twist or trick. I did catch on to the hoaky dialect within the first few minutes, however, through my not having expectations - couldn’t decide if it was intentional or not. That being said, those little hints throughout the film aid the excitement and suspense of the film. Thanks for not completely bashing the story, I’ve heard a lot of that, and it’s deserving of some credit. So, I say to everyone else - if you haven’t seen Sixth Sense or Signs, go watch The Village, now.