Now Showing: Village of Madness

Village of Madness
Genre: Drama/Historical
Director: Brad Anderson
Writer: Billy Cruder
Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Haley Bennett, Scoot McNairy, Jim Caviezel, Michelle Trachtenberg, Charles Dance, Yaya DeCosta, Amiah Miller, Sarah Snook

Plot: We are in 1700 in an English village called Liberal. The film begins on a cold night when five women walk in single file in the woods. The women arrive in a small clearing in which there is a woman named Miyumba (Yaya DeCosta), a slave of a family from the village from the British West Indies islands, who ignites a large fire and undresses by pronouncing sentences with unfamiliar words. Meanwhile, women, under the influence of Sarah (Haley Bennett), the daughter of the village priest, Nathaniel Kyle (Jim Caviezel), attempt to perform magical spells around the camp fire. However, they are soon discovered by Mr. Kyle and his other daughter Sally (Amiah Miller). One of the girls, Natalie (Michelle Trachtenberg), approaches the man and tries to block him and kiss him.

In the village the news spreads quickly, and people start talking about witchcraft. To avoid the shame and the definitive sinking of an already bad reputation, Kyle calls Martin Jones (Scoot McNairy), expert in demonology and witchcraft, into town to definitively confirm the plague of witches that have appeared in the village. Jones plans to perform exorcisms on the affected women in town, including Kyle's daughter Sally. After performing the exorcism on her, Jones proclaims that the demon has left her body, but that it could seek out other hosts in the village of Liberal, proclaiming, more or less officially, that the demon has fallen on Liberal. To save herself from her own exorcism, Sarah announces that Miyumba is working with the devil and must be a witch.

Sarah and Natalie together pretend to be able to see the demon in others, getting the women they accuse arrested as potential witches. Nobody notices that they only seem to be accusing women who are married to handsome men in the village.

Sheep herder Leslie Cole (Joel Kinnaman) had turned down Sarah's affections in the past and chose to marry Eliza (Sarah Snook) instead. Eliza joins the other married women in town being accused of being a demon-possessed witch.

To help with the trial, slimy judge Hawkamberg (Charles Dance) asks for the assistance of Kyle and Jones, for expert testimony.

At this point there are the first convictions for witchcraft and hangings, including Miyumba, who is hanged in the town square. Leslie Cole begins to fight and along with a few others, tries to testify the innocence of the accused and the madness of the girls. The court, primarily due to Hawkamberg, initially tries to discredit Leslie's testimony.

Nathaniel Kyle realizes that he has lost his trust and will eventually try to save some condemned people to save the last bit of authority left to him. Similarly, Jones resigns as a member of the Court and tries in every way, fighting with his own Faith, to push the condemned to lie to save himself. In the end it is understood that much of the fault who the death sentences in Liberal.