The Village -- A Review

Now that you've seen the movie and had a bit of time to consider its themes, here's a balanced review from The National Review from 2004, at the time The Village was released in theaters. An excerpt:

The Village's greatest strength is a moral core that never devolves into moralistic propaganda.

Shyamalan poses questions about the human response to evil and loss then allows the audience to come its own conclusions. His themes are incredibly relevant to the dilemmas we face today: Should we confront the things that threaten us and try to defeat them, or should we retreat, sacrificing even truth if it is necessary to enjoy a precious, if tenuous, peace? Should we ignore real menaces we can't control in favor of imagined ones we can?

Shyamalan doesn't paint his villagers motivations as right or wrong, and his reticence to make an allegory of his tale may leave some viewers frustrated. But it will also leave them thinking more deeply about the issues than if they were force-fed a lesson. Already, critics are reviewing The Village through their own political lenses, and it is to Shyamalan's credit that both the left and right could make credible arguments that the film falls in their favor. [ read whole review ]

Your thoughts on the movie, its relevance to The Crucible and Irving's stories?