# I finally saw The Village this weekend **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818 "2005-02-07T15:54:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/1 "2005-02-07T15:54:40Z")
I’m sorry, my suspension of disbelief just flew right out the window when I saw that these supposedly kindly, well-meaning, avoiding-cruelty villagers Sent a blind girl into the woods all by herself. I mean, they sent two guys, but when they saw the two come back, they just sat there?] I mean, WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Roboto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@Mr.Roboto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Roboto)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/2 "2005-02-07T16:26:57Z")
I just found out the young blind girl is the daughter of Ron Howard. Did she receive any Oscar Nominations? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/3 "2005-02-07T16:39:59Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’m sorry, my suspension of disbelief just flew right out the window when I saw that these supposedly kindly, well-meaning, avoiding-cruelty villagers > > Sent a blind girl into the woods all by herself. I mean, they sent two guys, but when they saw the two come back, they just sat there?] > > I mean, WTF? The point is, SHE WAS BLIND!!! She was the only person who couldn’t report what she saw. The elder gave her ample directions. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/4 "2005-02-07T16:51:42Z")
I know, I got it. It still seemed needlessly cruel. SO many other things could have happened to her in the woods other than just being eaten by the fake monsters. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/5 "2005-02-07T17:17:59Z")
There’s so much disbelief that you’ve got to suspend in that movie that it was hanging from the rafters in the theater and dripping down on the people watching it. I don’t think you need to use spoilers for a film out this long, but So does The Village keep a bunch of fighter planes in the air at all time to shoot down any stray aircraft that fly over? I know that planes aren’t supposed to fly over, but c’mon. You mean no airplane is ever going to go off course a bit? ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/6 "2005-02-07T17:58:25Z")
Ol’ M. Night was reachin’ with this one, IMO. I bought in to the creepy feeling (the mist at night was _reeeeaallly_good) and the love story in the first part of the film, but, rather than a pay-off as in his other films, I thought it was more of a fake-out. I felt cheated. If he could re-write that movie, take out the ending and focus on the love- story somehow, I think it would be fantastic. Overall, I place this film last, waaay last, among his films and I really liked his others. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/7 "2005-02-07T18:33:12Z")
heh…I liked _Unbreakable_, but _The Village_ just bleh me away. ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/8 "2005-02-07T20:44:58Z")
would have made for a good Outer Limits ep. Not so good for a feature film. Of course, I also HATE William Hurt. I have no idea who decided that he was an acceptable actor. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/9 "2005-02-07T21:34:07Z")
I go to M. Night movies solely to support my peoples (well, considering the original author of this thread, our peoples, yay Desis who go into something arty, not all of us need to take over the AMA) but yeah, this one, bleh. That said, I loved some elements of this movie-the colours, the pacing and the scene on the porch between Joaquin and the Howard girl was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/10 "2005-02-07T21:38:10Z")
> [@anu-la1979](#): > > I go to M. Night movies solely to support my peoples (well, considering the original author of this thread, our peoples, . 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/11 "2005-02-07T23:15:13Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > would have made for a good Outer Limits ep. Not so good for a feature film. > > Of course, I also HATE William Hurt. I have no idea who decided that he was an acceptable actor. Bravo! I agree whole-heartedly. This “actor” has ruined more films for me than any other. Ugh! ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/12 "2005-02-07T23:55:38Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > There’s so much disbelief that you’ve got to suspend in that movie that it was hanging from the rafters in the theater and dripping down on the people watching it. > > I don’t think you need to use spoilers for a film out this long, but The rich guy paid some people off to make the area over the reservation a no-fly zone ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/13 "2005-02-08T00:10:53Z")
> [@Mithril](#): > > The rich guy paid some people off to make the area over the reservation a no-fly zone Right, but do you really think it’s plausible that NO plane (or other modern flying apparatus) ever comes close enough, being off-course or in ignorance of the no-fly zone, to been glimpsed at all? Or even heard? If I heard the roar of an engine somewhere overhead or nearby I would be intrigued. To me this was just the latest of Shyamalan’s dreck. I disliked _Unbreakable_ and _The Sixth Sense_, loathed _Signs_ with a passion…but I think _The Village_ might be the worst of them all. I was so happy when I saw that _The Village_ only made about half of _Signs_’ gross…at that rate pretty soon no one would want to finance Shayamalan’s projects. I can only hope the trend continues. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/14 "2005-02-08T00:20:08Z")
I saw it recently and thought it sucked. I had figured out most of the “surprise ending” as soon as I saw the date on the gravestone in the first few minutes. And, yeah, Bill Hurt was pretty bad. He needs to stop taking qualudes everyday he’s on location filming. Ron’s daughter was pretty good, but she couldn’t save this dog of a movie. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/15 "2005-02-08T00:24:55Z")
Why didn’t one of the original settlers go? That was always my question. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/16 "2005-02-08T01:08:58Z")
The original settlers had made the decision to never go back. I still don’t think you can buy enough land and bribe enough people to keep all the planes away. It’s Pennsylvania! It’s not like they were hanging out in rural Montana! ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/17 "2005-02-08T01:29:17Z")
Oh, I was spoiled the second I saw the on-line trailer. I thought the markings on the doors looked like spray paint so I figured “Oh the twist will be…” Now, I don’t really know if there were weird marks on doors that looked like spray paint for not because I haven’t bothered to see the flick. I mean, why bother, I considered myself spoiled. Then I read spoiler that said I was right about the twist. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/18 "2005-02-08T01:46:27Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I saw it recently and thought it sucked. I had figured out most of the “surprise ending” as soon as I saw the date on the gravestone in the first few minutes. And, yeah, Bill Hurt was pretty bad. He needs to stop taking qualudes everyday he’s on location filming. Ron’s daughter was pretty good, but she couldn’t save this dog of a movie. Hurt always manages to sound like he’s bored to death. It really doesn’t help anything. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/19 "2005-02-08T01:50:53Z")
You know, I think I would’ve liked the movie a whole lot better if the key premise wasn’t so similar to that of [this book](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0689812361/qid=1107828005/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-8182220-9115932?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) that I read when I was younger. (Warning–clicking on that link will reveal the twist). That happens a lot to me, though. The whole real world not being real thing from the Matrix was something I’d read about first in [this](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671020579/qid=1107828196/sr=1-36/ref=sr_1_36/104-8182220-9115932?v=glance&s=books) YA novel. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818/20 "2005-02-08T02:21:21Z")
What irritated me the most was the way they talked… … did the Village Grammar Board ban the use of contractions? Is that an important ingredient in creating an environment of “older times?” The actual effect was to create an environment that favored irritating the living shit out of me. And that’s why I don’t like the way they talked. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-saw-the-village-this-weekend/288818.md?page=2)