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"A Perplexing Film from M. Night Shyamalan"
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Rating:
Pros: Well acted, especially the every adorable Bryce Dallas Howard
-1
Cons: Lacks energy; weak script; too far-fetched
The Bottom Line: M. Night Shyamalan is coasting along on reputation alone.
Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie''s plot.
I loved The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan’s 1999 break out hit. The movie was mysterious, engaging and seriously frightening. None of the Indian born writer director’s work since then has come close to capturing the magic of that film. And that is a shame since The Sixth Sense showed such promise. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest offering, Lady in The Water, while visually appealing, and well acted, was ultimately another disappointment.
Written and directed by the aforementioned M. Night Shyamalan Lady in The Water features Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man, Sideways, The Illusionist) in his first leading (man) role. Giamatti portrays as Cleveland Heap a sad little apartment building supervisor who (seemingly) rescues Story portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village, Manderlay, As You Like It) from the complex pool. We later find out that she has been living there for a spell, and is from a race of humans that lives under water.
Story has been sent by the water-born humans to save the land-dwelling human from themselves, but she is pursued by evil (of course) in the form of wolfs, or some such creatures that can blend into the surrounding fauna. Oh, by the way M. Night Shyamalan decides to step in front of the camera in a big way on this film by portraying one of the pivotal characters.
My Thoughts
Lady in The Water supposedly grew out of a bedtime story Mr. Shyamaln made up for his children and as such the movie played like one and not a very well developed one at that. While that plot is fine for children whose inquisitive but unschooled minds may forgive certain holes in the story lines, adult views need, or should need, more information. The movie played out like a bed time story and as such lacked the narrative and sophistication of a theatrical release by a major studio. Like all of Mr. Shyamalan’s movies of late Lady in The Water turned out to be less of a thriller and more of a yawn. The movie certainly wasn’t fear inducing, nor was it suspenseful, or overly engaging, plausible, or even interesting; it was just boring and unsatisfying.
And while the cast turned in a fine performance, especially the ever adorable Bryce Dallas Howard, Lady in The Water is not a movie I would recommend.
Recommended:
No
Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older
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More Lady in the Water reviews
review by ssjakira1.
November 05, 2009
Pros: Unique story, good acting, music, style Cons: Not much The Bottom Line: This won't be the right cup of tea for some Shyamalan fans, but if you like his style and can handle a bit of urban fantasy, you're good to go. When people hear M. Night Shyamalan's name, they think scary. They think dead people and bizarre twists. So I think when people saw the trailer for Lady in the Water, they were confused. When … more
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review by sniffcode.
June 08, 2009
Lady in the Water is easily an old school Steven Spielberg-esque film. Shyamalan has given us Cleveland Heap, who in true ET style, is going to help a young woman make her way back home. There are, of course, enemies that stand in there way, but that is nothing compared to the lack of self-confidence in their ability to carry out this mission. Thankfully, they have an eclectic cast of supporting characters that will each in their own colorful way help these two do what they are meant to do. & … more
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review by arichards.
November 17, 2008
Based on an ancient story Of a Blue World we forgot When mankind turned away from peace Bringing decay and rot To save us all, the story goes A messenger is sent Awakening a human to Forestall our sharp descent Of course there is a darker force A creature full of hate Sent to destroy the messenger So we can't change our fate A … more
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review by abhaille.
June 01, 2008
Pros: Original and well acted. Cons: Hard to see at times because of the low light. The Bottom Line: Well, I want to see it again soon. I think that this is a movie that bears repeat watching to catch the fine detail. Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie''s plot. M. Night Shyamalan returns again with another dark twisted tale that makes us question some of our basic beliefs. … more
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Shyamalan's films are somewhat quirky and offbeat and very much draw upon his own idiosyncratic (but neither entirely original or totally out there) sense of what kinds of stories ought to be told. They usually don't conform to the standard Hollywood storytelling model, which means there are gaps and inconsistencies and odd duck characters and miscues that aren't entirely justified or the structure of the films is slanted without a clear "beginning" "middle" and "end" or where a "twist" takes the … more
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review by liago4.
June 27, 2007
I have seen every M. Night Shyamalan movie and like most people I have also had my share of problems with them as well. No matter what you think of him or his films he will no doubt always give an interesting story and he does so with Lady in the Water. Like one of the characters say in this film "the world no longer has any originality" I definitely agree. With Lady in the Water you get complete originality with a weird array of characters. Paul Giamatti (Cleveland Heep) plays a building manager … more
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review by bettydravis.
January 18, 2007
From all the previews, I was expecting a real horror story ... NOT! Although I enjoyed some of the actors and thought Giametti, as the building manager, and Howard as the water nymph, were suited for their roles, this movie was too slow in getting started. Once I figured out what was going on and got past the large cast of characters involved, it turned out to be fairly enjoyable ... but I had to view it as a semi-comedy instead of the horror movie that I expected. Exce … more
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review by newtonooi.
March 16, 2007
The Lady in the title is named Story, and is played by Bryce Dallas Howard. The water is literally an apartment swimming pool, but is really the blue world that is Earth. The story of this movie is relationship between the apt superintendent and Story. She rescues him from drowning at the beginning of the movie, he then rescues her from the wolf. Later she sees into his troubled heart and rescues his soul by giving someone to care for again; her. At the end he rescues her by assembling the apartment … more
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review by MzJen_2_review.
January 16, 2007
M. Night Shyamalan has provide us another interesting film. His earlier works have been very cynical, and sometimes dark which I had fun watching. This film, in the other hand, ventures away from that and the characters are in a dissimilar light. M. Night somehow made a movie that is compatible with children, and just as compatible with the adult. The humor doesn't lose its touch halfway through the movie, and in some respects the humor adds to the sadness. The opening tells us that this is a children's … more
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LADY IN THE WATER is a very tough film to review. M. Night Shyamalan is doubtless a new thinker and has produced some original and interesting films (none of which equal the promise of his first one THE SIXTH SENSE) and LADY IN THE WATER has some very good aspects. It is just such a mixed bag, full of holes and hints of personal vendettas that it ultimately fails to achieve what it sets out to do. The opening sequence tells a tale in charming line drawings about how we all … more
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About the reviewer
Vincent Martin (vemartin)
Ranked #78
Ranked #78
I am an IT Professional and have worked in the industry for over 20 years. I may be a computer geek, but I also like reading, writing, cooking, music, current events and regretfully, politics.
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About this movie
Or, if you prefer,I See Wet People. M. Night Shyamalan's attempt at a newfangled mythology--about a depressed apartment superintendent (Paul Giamatti) who discovers a sea-nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) who may hold the key to humanity's hopeful future--is intriguing enough to capture the imaginations of children and adults who haven't lost sight of their innocent sense of wonder. Cynics, on the other hand, will likely scoff at Shyamalan's awkward fantasy, which includes one victim--a film critic--widely interpreted as Shyamalan's revenge against reviewers who pannedThe Village. Shyamalan originally improvised this melancholy fantasy as a bedtime story for his children; unfortunately, it still feels mostly half-baked and ultimately ineffective due to a number of plot holes and inconsistencies that a writer as talented as Shyamalan should've been able to avoid. For those wishing to learn more about the film's troubled history, and Shyamalan's petulant split from Disney studios,The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Taleis an interesting read.--Jeff Shannon
Cast:
Paul Giamatti,
Doug Jones,
Bryce Dallas Howard,
Jeffrey Wright,
Bob Balaban,
Sarita Choudhury,
Cindy Cheung,
Freddy Rodriguez,
Bill Irwin,
Mary Beth Hurt,
Noah Gray-Cabey,
Joseph D. Reitman,
Jared Harris,
Grant Monohon,
John Boyd,
Ethan Cohn,
June Kyoko Lu,
Tovah Feldshuh,
Tom Mardirosian,
Maricruz Hernandez,
Carla Jimenez,
Natasha Perez,
Monique Curnen,
Marilyn Torres,
George Bass,
Joel Garland,
James "Jimbo" Breen,
Nell Johnson,
Walter Lafty,
Mark Melchiorre, Jr.,
Kevin Frank,
Brian Weaver,
Nick Perri,
Jeremy Howard,
Brian Steele,
Kurt Carley
Director:
M. Night Shyamalan
Genre:
Action,
Adventure,
Fantasy,
Sci-Fi
Release Date:
July 21, 2006
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
DVD Release Date:
December 19, 2006
Runtime:
1hr 50min
Studio:
Warner Bros. Pictures
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