William Hurt did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Edward Walker in The Village.
William Hurt plays the elder of the village, a performer who may have had the best armor to deal with the sometimes ropey dialogue of M. Night Shyamalan, because Hurt himself sometimes has a very peculiar way of delivering lines. And for me, unless he’s lost in space, this works regardless even if most actors you might call it stilted, for Hurt it works and for Hurt I was convinced every word he says in this film which is an achievement in itself, particularly when also very talented actors like Joaquin Phoenix and Sigourney Weaver I found fumbled a bit when trying to get every word across. Hurt handles it with ease. Hurt is effective in doing his best to essentially earn the twist in playing the man who is part of the village, bringing the general needed gravitas as the elder so to speak. What Hurt does so well is play very much with the twist in mind throughout the film and more than anyone earns in his performance. As there is the sense of the weight of the lie in everything that he does, even as he tries to keep this general calm of the man projecting concern and strength for his community.
Within the moments where the young village stalwart Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) decides that he should try to leave the village for better medicines, Hurt’s reactions within this area with a combination of concern and admiration. The former even not for the man’s life but rather something else that is nagging at him. When even Lucius attempts to make the trip unauthorized, Edward doesn’t react with anger rather appreciation for the bravery of the young man. Hurt’s reaction in the moment portrays honest affection for the spirit of the young man and really even a sense of hope for the future. The main crux of the story comes as Lucius is severely injured by the mentally unwell Noah (Adrien Brody), leaving Edward’s blind daughter Ivy (Bryce Dallas Howard) to want to save him. Coming to the revelations of the piece, though again I’ll credit Hurt for very much wanting to do the work to try to provide a bit of depth within the context of the twist. Including when Edward tells Ivy of his own father, a financial wizard who was murdered for his wealth. Hurt brings within the delivery of this speech frankly a sense of modernity, a hint of nostalgia for his dad, but also a very strong sense of motivation for the man’s rejection for the rest of the world. Leading to the twist which felt unavoidable at the time of the film’s release, as Edward shows her that the strange creatures lurking in the woods are in fact costumes the elders wear to keep their children to stay within the village. Hurt even within this revelation even excels in his almost half embarrassed/half calming declaration that it is “farce” as he supports his daughter breaking the rules and leaving the forest.
Leading to what really is Hurt’s standout scene where the rest of the elders come to learn of the choice and some of them severely question the break of their oaths. Hurt is terrific in the scene because what he calls upon is this old passion in his performance as he speaks not only of the crimes of Noah, but the hope of his daughter and Lucius. Bringing within it not just a sense of love and concern for the future, but also the sense of conviction of someone who is reckoning essentially against the strictures of his old choice and instead supporting the fundamental spirit of why he made that original choice. It’s a strong scene for Hurt, one that naturally reveals this history professor who made the decision to go with others to hide essentially in the forest away from society to make some idealized version of society to avoid those ills, now dealing with the ills regardless. Hurt makes the pain of dealing with these realizations feel absolutely real and creates something tangible in the emotional strain he brings in every word noting the man's true passion to hold onto the idea of innocence behind the village meanwhile allowing the fundamental rules of the village to be broken. It’s there and it is only a shame that this is basically the end of the notion and not something the film deals with beyond a certain point. Which is unfortunate as the film might’ve had something if it continued in the direction alluded to by this scene, but basically the film is wrapping up so that’s that. Regardless, Hurt delivers on alluding to that potential, in creating a performance that not only naturally supports the twist also weaves within it some genuine emotion. I will say it is unfortunate the film isn't better because what Hurt does is create a greater promise within the premise, which sadly the premise as is only allows Hurt to go so far.
