Joker and the top 10 films of Joaquin Phoenix (so far)
By Rachel Roth
10. The Village
Original Release Date: July 30, 2004
Box Office: $256.7 million
Critical Reception: The film received mixed reviews, getting a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, but that didn’t stop it from getting several nominations. John Newton Howard was nominated for Best Score at the 77th Academy Awards, and actress Bryce Dallas Howard was nominated for multiple awards.
About the Role: I know this isn’t exactly the greatest movie but it’s a rare kind of film that grows more profound with each viewing and features one of Joaquin Phoenix’s more quieter performances. He plays Lucious Hunt, a timid young man that’s the childhood friend and romantic interest of Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard).
He’s the kind of guy that purposely does things he dislikes, like extra work and not marrying the woman he loves, just to be edgy. He prefers self-sacrificing righteousness.
Simply the Best: We’re all familiar with the many twists of M. Night Shyamalan’s endings. The infamous twists that occur in every single one of his movies that are either a hit or a miss. The Village was one of the misses, but I think it’s gained more appreciation over the years. In the first viewing of the movie, the twist ending is a huge letdown but once you get past the initial disappointment, it becomes somewhat of a phenomenal conclusion.
The Village is set in what appears to be 19th Century Pennsylvania. Inside the woods is a small community run by a council of elders fearful of some unknown monster living in the woods. Eventually, it’s revealed (spoiler alert) that they’re actually in modern-day, living separately from the outside world. The monsters outside are other humans.
In a flashback, it reveals that those who built the village were all members of a support group coping with a personal loss. Together, they vowed to give their children a better life outside of the violence of society and built the Village. At first glance, it seems to have worked. The Village is a cheerful place. Unfortunately, it’s a ruse, because corruption lives wherever there are people and violence, as the film shows, is human nature.