My Rating: 7 (out of 10)

Lady in the Water is M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film and is by far his least satisfying work. Having said that, however, it is still an entertaining and thought-provoking film, especially when compared with much of the fluff and crap released on a weekly basis by Hollywood.

The basic premise is that Cleveland Heep (admirably played by Paul Giamatti – I loved him in Sideways) discovers a young woman in the pool of an apartment complex he manages. As the film unfolds, we quickly discover that the woman is named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) and that she is the incarnation of a character from a Korean bedtime story. It is up to Heep and the other residents of the complex to help her complete her mission and return to her home.

Lady is beautifully filmed by Christopher Doyle, and the soundtrack by James Newton Howard adds a great deal to movie’s atmosphere. All of the actors aquit themselves well, especially Bob Balaban as Harry Farber, film ciritic and the Cove’s newest resident. Farber’s last scene in the film is destined to become a classic (and that’s all I’ll say about that). I also enjoyed the film’s deliberate pace (this is, of course, a Shyamalan trademark), and appreciated the obvious love that Shyamalan has for his film.

Havaing said this, let me address two of the film’s problems. All successful fantasy films require a suspension of belief on the part of the viewer. Some are more successful in enabling the viewer to do this than others. The Lord of the Rings is a good example of a film that actually empowers the moviegoer to enter fully into a different world. Lady doesn’t help the viewer enter fully into its world. The film’s contemporary setting, the silly-sounding names bandied about (like narf and scrunt), and the film character’s’ all-too-willingness to actually believe they have a fairy tale story come true in their own backyard all detracted from my being able to immerse myself in the story (pun intended).

There are, of course, side plots and stories in the film – particularly Heep’s shyness and secrecy about his past that provide some depth to the movie. But there were far too many “colorful” characters in the film for my tastes (and this is from a guy who loved Northern Exposure). At times the movie seems to be almost caricature rather than character driven.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend Lady in the Water, especially for those who love Shyamalan’s other films.

Just another note: My 13 year old daughter loved the movie. I guess this is no surprise given the fact the film began as a bedtime story Shyamalan told his children.

technorati tags:film, Lady in the Water, Shyamalan, review

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