firteen88

saw this last night (midnight show) and wasnt as happy with it as i was with the sixth sense or signs. I don't understand why the adults had to pretend they were from the 1890's. And i definitly thought the ending was a bit cheap. The ending of sixth sense was great because there were so many clues during the movie that show that he was really dead and it just hits you like "wow" when you find out. But when i found out this movie took place in present time i was just like "ummmm". I just dont understand the point of why they had to pretend they WERENT in present day time. If they kept they're regular accents what would the difference be? it's not like the kids knew anything about the outside world anyway since they were born in the village so what does it matter what time period it was? Other than that, there was just NO WAY to assume there would be an ending like that. it's not like "oh my god, how did i not see that" (like i did, and most poeple did, for the sixth sense).
other than that, maybe someone can answer some questions for me.....1. what was the significance of the color red? why did the elders want the kids to believe it was a "bad color"?

2. same with the yellow, why was it considered a safe color?

3. where the elders the ones skinning and killing all the livestock? If so, why did they need to go to such an extreme extent by killing so many?

with this said.... I just didnt think the ending came together like his other 3 movies.

neiname

Didn't planes fly overhead?

scott shelton

They address that.

firteen88

The government was paid so that planes would not fly overhead (unless I'm mistaken about this)

scott shelton

I'm no genius, so I couldn't offer a complete explanation...

1) I can assume red reminded the villagers of the bloodshed and death they witnessed in their "previous" life.

2) Yellow is the universal color of warning.

3) The extremity of the situation was to scare the townsfolk. They do blow this off in the film, but, as I understood it, one of the elders just went a little nuts trying to control the hysteria in the town. Is there more to it than that? You tell me.

4) It was set in the 1890s because technology could not have supported the elders' desire to cut themselves off from the rest of the world they loathed.

Again, I could be completely off. That’s what this forum is all about: office workers and the unemployed spending quality time dissecting minutiae.

As for the “twist,” it saddens me to see so many people hung up on it. Personally, I liked the film, and I think it was because I read about the ending in those script reviews 6 months ago. I could sit back and enjoy the wonderful performance from Bryce Dallas Howard, the chilling knife scene between Phoenix and Brody, and the subtle ache of the “twist” ending, which really isn’t one, if you think about it.

I’m no fan of Shyamalan, but I think this is his best film so far. Lose all the monster stuff, and there’s a gentle, sweet, compelling costume drama underneath. Who expected that?

Still, the fanboys are going to condemn it right away since “the twist!” wasn’t what they wanted. How can anybody enjoy a film if they’re spending the entire running time trying to crack the secrets? I don’t get it…

firteen88

Why couldn't they just set it in present day and NOT use technology? i dont see how the elders teaching their children to talk and act as though they were in the 1890's helped any. its not like the young knew about technology anyway no matter what time period it should be. Since they never left the village.

FinkPish

Yeah, I think it would be more traumatic for the kids to realize they are living in the 21st century.

Plus, hadn't the elders seen Jurassic Park? The kids will eventually find a way out of the village, they can never have that much control.

scott shelton

You could say that this way of life was a desirable choice for the elders. It was one of the last periods in American history where communities were mostly self-contained.

Didn't Hurt's character mention he was a history professor? My memory is foggy... But that plays into the choice as well.

But that's nitpicking, which isn't good to do. ANY film could be nitpicked to death.

firteen88

I guess you're right that it was just a CHOICE to live in the 1890's instead of present day....plus Night's twist wouldn't have worked if they thought they were in the present day anyway.

Hannibal

3. where the elders the ones skinning and killing all the livestock? If so, why did they need to go to such an extreme extent by killing so many?

When Noah's parents bring him dinner in the "quiet room" and discover he had known about one of the costumes (and hence a way to escape), you hear the mom exclaim "the animals". Leads me to believe it was Noah all along skinning the livestock. In the scene where John Hurt and Sigourney Weaver are alone by the barn, instead of "who the hell is acting up and overdoing it" they clearly are confused. Noah's knowing for some time now could explain his grinning hysterics in the cellar. He knows the truth and doesn't care at all to reveal it because he can't articulate well, doesn't care to reveal it because he want's to play along (with bloody consequences), or he's just insane.

firteen88

good point hannibal

clemente

I read the situation the same as Hannibal.

Catch 21

Yup, what he said.Hannibal what did you think of the film? i take it if you figured that out. I would guess you didnt like the movie.

Hannibal

[rambling]

I liked it. I didn't love it. In the theater I was in, half the crowd loved it (applause, "Yay" wow!) the other half ("I knew the ending", "What the hell") I was careful not to make any presumptions before the movie started. I really didn't spend time thinking about "is there going to be twist, it better be mindblowing" during the film. I think that now MNS should direct someone else's script as his skills as a director (framing, composition, silence as suspense) are great. Maybe to get off this "twist at the end" treadmill he placed himself in. BTW, Roger Deakins (sp?) cinematography rocks. I did love the performance by Howard's daughter. Just enough for me to care about to see the resolution till the end. It could have all turned laughingly into the end of Python's Holy Grail but it didn't. MNS does another cameo in the reflection of the medicine cooler in the guard station.
If I'm not mistaken, in the newspaper MNS is reading it talks about a billionaires (owner of the wildlife preserve) 7 year old son found dead. This would be the dead son in the beginning right? That would explain how Hurt's history professor character could carry out his plan, having a rich guy in your therapy group can't hurt. Unfortunately all this info is thrown at us with barely enough time for it to sink in.

I did find myself thinking "how is this going to look and sound on dvd?" I'm doing this now with every movie I go see.lol

iSince I've been rambling, how about Adrien Brody? You think he can carry the hero role in Peter Jackson's Kong film? He better bulk up..a stiff breeze could knock him over.

Also, when Ivy fell in the crater/ditch/gulley I thought "this is where the Brotherhood of the Wolf beast does his cameo." lol

[/rambling]

Goldberg74

When we first see the 'creature' that is chasing Ivy, I thought it was the elder who lost his son at the beginning trying to keep her from saving Lucius. If his son couldn't be saved from his illness, why should he.

But then I got to thinking about things coming full circle, and figured that Noah had gotten out. However, I didn't think he'd die from falling into the hole.

I did like the way that Night worked himself into the film, the reflection in the cupboard was cool.

Yeah, the elder Walker was the son of the billionaire who owned the Nature Preserve the Village was in, and he was a Professor of American History at the University of Pennsylvania. I loved the way they worked in each individual story of the elders and why they chose to take part in his experiment.

I have to agree it wasn't Night's best film, but it was a film that was worthy of being made.

I have to agree with Roeper on this one and say that Ebert was way off (they were on Leno last night arguing about it).

ginabean80

Red was probably chosen as the "bad color" because Red is often associated with war and danger. The acient Romans used Red flags as a sign they were going into battle. Yellow was probably chosen as the "safe color" for several reasons, to holistic healers yellow is a color of peace, in some countries yellow is a color of mourning - many of the elders were in mourning over loved ones they had lost. It is also used as a symbol for quarantine, an area marked off because of danger - just like they had the yellow flags hanging around the perimeter of the forest. Colors actually have a lot of meaning leaving the whole thing open to interpretation!

And the elders were the ones skinning the livestock. Ivy's father admitted that to her when he gave her permission to enter the forest. They most likely had to go to extremes to keep the young people out of the forest. It was a scare tactic.

; )

Tarnower

The color red is considered a bad color. It supposedly attracts the creatures. The color yellow (or grey poupon in this case) is supposed to repel the creatures. That's why the flags along the perimeter of the village, and the cloaks they wear, are yellow.

PopcornTreeCt

Good stuff everyone. I'm learning more about the movie which makes me respect it more. I think it was Shyamalan's weakest effort to date, Unbreakable being his best film.

I think things went wrong when Hurt's character is talking to Bryce Howard's character outside the shed. They should have saved that scene for the end and spliced it together when she's coming to the road. They pretty much gave away the film half-way through the movie. I think this will remain a misunderstood film ala Unbreakable.

das Monkey

I wasn't sure which thread to post in, so I put my thoughts here: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...30#post5145130

I don't think there's anything spoilerific about my post, but if so I can move it here.

das

firteen88

DAS? what part of the first few minutes of the film gave it away? i can't see how the ending was so obvious to you or anybody for that matter. I have no idea how anybody could possibly figure out that it took place in present day until they revealed it. what in the beginning of the movie made you say "duh, its so obvious this movie takes place in 2004" Maybe you did figure out the twist, but I'm just curious HOW, cuz i see no way.

das Monkey

I don't know if there was anything specific about it. It just seemed obvious. Perhaps the fact that I expected there to be a twist had a large part to do with it. If it were just some random flick, I might not put it together so quickly, but knowing it was a Shyamalan work, I couldn't avoid thinking outside of the box.

Now, I didn't put together why they had done it and the whole traumatized support group angle, but with all the secretive talking amongst the elders, it just seemed logical that we were in present day (or the near future) and this community had either been forcibly or more likely willingly chosen to seclude themselves from the real world and that the "creatures" were nothing more than a device for maintaining that illusion. It seemed implausible to me that they could have created this society without being found, but once he started talking about the Walker guy being a billionaire, that all started to make sense too.

Maybe I watched too much Twilight Zone as a kid or maybe I think too much ... maybe I'm just conditioned to the point where when adult figures in movies try to scare people into not opening that door or not looking in that box or not going into that forrest, they're trying to hide something from you ... or maybe it was simply just really obvious; regardless, it just seemed like that's what the movie was about pretty early on. I can't really pinpoint what led me to that conclusion other than the fact that it just seemed to fit.

das

Patman

Plus, did they have "anti-biotics" back in the 1890's? The "medicine" needed was to control infection, so it was pretty plain that the medicine was going to be pretty modern.

I had problems with a blind girl finding her way in the forest. How insane is that? Sometimes Ivy was "blind" and sometimes she moved/ran too well for a blind person. And yes, it would have been better as a 30 minute Twilight Zone episode.

Oh, and how about that Shyamalan cameo (in a reflection, no less, after the preceding scene being shot behind his head). Geez.

kvrdave

It was okay. After it was over, I felt like I have just watched an old episode of The Twighlight Zone.

But, still enjoyable....but I also expected more.

PopcornTreeCt

Here are some reasons I found out the twist early:

1. One of the women mentions her sister was killed in an alleyway. Alleyway? In the 1800s?

2. Brendan Gleeson is seen wearing what looks like a modern day suit and tie in a scene near the end.

3. William Hurt mentions someone being shot and killed by a gun. I know guns have been around a very long time but still made me think about it.

The logistics of the townspeople actually being able to keep their secret is kinda ridiculous. There's no way they would be able to do it for so long. Something would crack eventually. The movie was kinda like a mix between The Truman Show and Blair Witch Project. I try not to think too deeply about the realism in Shyamalan's movies but I still enjoy them nonetheless.

Jackskeleton

I watched it and I have the same feeling I had when I left signs.

I wish he focused on one story or the other and stopped with this madness of trying to get people in the door for one thing and then pulling out another.

I wanted to see more of the love story. I wanted to see more Ivy and Lucius relationship. What I got was a build up and no more Lucius. I don't mind the eye candy howard brought to the table, but I really felt that once they did the big scooby doo reveal that it was the town elders that they would focus on the relationship. Perhaps a flash back to when they were kids and he would always hold her hand or something of that nature. I also hated the way they ended it. Blah. Give me some better resolution.

Things I wanted to know:

HIS COLOR!! You highlight it for so long and you don't even bring it up at the end! grrrrrrrr

what exactly the extent of her blindness was. Half the time she could see some details, other times she was completely blind as a bat. Was she DareDevil? Tell me! I would like to know.

The time it took to build up all those people of the town. That seemed like much more then 1 generation of all the elders childern. Seems like they needed a lot more people to populate and greater amounts of years in order to fill the numbers that they seem to have at some points. Was it the family of those who came by and the extended family?

I really would like to see M.Night try a straight drama without the need of a sci fi creature or mythos to get you in the door. Cause he sure isn't delivering when it comes to the mythos creature situations.