There’s so much here that continues to place it right at M Night’s upper echelon for me, but on this rewatch, the moment that really got me was when Ivy is searching for Lucius’s hand amidst the chaos of the village trying to find who Noah stabbed. Laying in the moments of his hand always being there for her, only for her to find it limp on the floor…man. He’s just so good at finding those small bits within the more outsized, fantastical elements that bring you in. It’s among the most moving things he’s ever done.

Deakins is just draining 3’s throughout the entire movie. It’s not just the use of color, light and shadow but he melds so gorgeously with a blocking that is so specifically M Night’s. The stuff happening in and out of windows and door frames is unbelievable.

This and Knock at the Cabin are such great looks at a societal refusal to engage with grief and tragedy, and how selfish we become towards the ones we love when we wrap our supposed “protection” of them into our own narcissistic fears. I’ve always loved this from my first watch in theaters, but two decades removed, it’s so clear that this was unfairly written off as audiences trying to outsmart it. M Night definitely played this aspect of his work up a bit at the time, but in treating his work like a puzzle to be solved or a game to be won, people really just whiffed on the forest (lol) through the trees.

Incredible film.