LADY IN THE WATER

The Real Lady In The Water

I am a HUGE M. Night Shyamalan fan. I thought the Sixth Sense was very cool. I thought it was nice to see the twist reborn within American Cinema. I LOVED Unbreakable. I know most people did not like that film. But if you love comic books (like I do) then a movie where regular people become comic book heroes is a movie for you. Signs was great. I don’t care what any science geeks say about the science of that film (first of all, get a fucking life) but that was a fabulous movie about a guy who loses his faith only to have it reborn under extraordinary circumstances (see, it’s not REALLY a movie about aliens).

Then came The Village. I heard this was about the folklore of fairies (much like Sixth Sense was about the folklore of ghosts or Unbreakable was about the folklore of comic books). I went into that film so excited and I was SO let down. That movie was awful. Possibly one of the worst films I have ever seen. Read Truthbringer’s review and you’ll see what I mean. M. Night had let me down and he had let me down hard. So, when I started to see trailers and read about the filming of Lady in the Water, I got optimistic but nervous.

I will give any director one chance to make up for a dud. But there were things that still made me nervous about this film. It stems from a bedtime story M. Night made up for his kids (when Robert Rodriguez did this we got stuck with Shark Boy for God’s sake!). Secondly, it was not going to be a horror film or really a thriller, it was going to be a fantasy/fairytale movie. Finally, he brought back Bryce Dallas Howard, who was good in The Village, but she was in The Village nonetheless.

So, what about the film itself? Well, we are introduced to Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti). He’s an ordinary man, who lives an ordinary life. At least on the surface. He is the apartment manager/handyman for an apartment complex. He lives by himself in a small house on the grounds and keeps mostly to himself. He lives a simple life. But as the story unfolds, we find out he is running away from his past. <> You see, Cleveland used to be a prominent doctor. But one night while he was out a burglar broke into his house, stole most of his possessions and killed his entire family.

As such, Cleveland does not want to get attached to anyone ever again. In walks little Ms. Howard. A long time ago, humans were not the only intelligent beings on the planet. We were guided by the “Water People”. These people could see the future and helped guide the human race. But as people kept moving further and further inland, we forgot the “Water People”….until now.

Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a sea nymph who is sent to Cleveland’s apartment complex to inspire a writer (M. Night Shyamalan playing a writer…there’s a fucking stretch) whose work will change the entire course of mankind (modest too!). She arrives and saves Cleveland from drowning. Surprisingly, Cleveland has no problem believing she is a nymph and decides to help her find the writer she is looking for.

Cleveland finds the writer and all seems well until another supernatural being appears. Nymphs have natural born enemies. These are called Scrunts. Scrunts are wolf like creatures, but they are masters of camouflage. Thus, they are cunning and extremely dangerous.

This Scrunt is preventing Story’s journey home. Now it is up to Cleveland to help her get home. With the help of a Chinese neighbor whose mother has told her the story of the sea nymph as a child (a VERY funny role played by Cindy Cheung) Cleveland assembles a motley crew of apartment dwellers to fight off the Scrunt and help Story return to her world.

Wow! That took a while to tell all of you. And that’s pretty much what the movie is like. It takes its time to allow the story to unfold and develop before the viewers eyes. And that’s not a bad thing! Instead of steamrolling over all of the character development to get to the action, M. Night allows each character to get his or her own quirky traits.

Paul Giamatti is fabulous as ever. He plays the everyday guy who has to do extraordinary things so well. You can see fear, despair and joy all in one scene and he never even has to say anything.

But the real gem in this film is the ensemble. Each apartment is like a journey throughout America. The large Hispanic family, the Chinese immigrants who don’t trust the white landlord, the stoners who smoke out too much, the shut-in who doesn’t talk to anyone and the annoying couple who tell you their business even though you never asked. The humor that these characters bring anchors the story back into reality even though the most surreal plot is happening around them.

Bryce Dallas Howard is fine as Story. She just doesn’t have a lot to work with. Her lines are few and far between and in every scene she is so overshadowed by Paul Giamatti, you kind of forget she’s there.

FINAL ANALYSIS!

This movie’s downfall is the advertising for it. This is NOT a horror film. Yes, there are a few thrilling scenes but this is not for the adrenaline junky looking for a fix. This movie takes a LONG time to get going and many people sucked in by the trailer are going to be bored. BUT if you allow the movie to get going and you just enjoy what the amazing cast brings to the table, this is a GREAT fantasy movie. I applaud M. Night for going away from his last four films and taking a chance at a real different kind of film. If you can allow yourself to be a child hearing a wonderfully fantastic bedtime story then you’ll enjoy the Lady in the Water.

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