M. Nightly Retrospective: ‘Lady in the Water’

THE SIXTH SENSE | UNBREAKABLE | SIGNS | THE VILLAGE | LADY IN THE WATER

A bedtime story telling the tale of a culture of sea creatures that were once tied to humans and are once again trying to restablish that connection.

• BOX OFFICE: $42,285,169 domestically, $72,785,169 worldwide and #1,206 all-time
• PRODUCTION BUDGET: $70 million
• M. Night Shyamalan has a part in Lady in the Water as a writer

ONE GOOD:

If the ultimate goal is entertainment, then Lady in the Water enthusiastically rises to the task. In a movie laden with enough symbolism, shamanism and mythic lore to make Joseph Campbell dance a tribal jig, Shyamalan never forgets to have fun. ~ Desson Thompson, “Washington Post”

ONE BAD:

It comes off as tedious, pretentious, self-indulgent, talky and so garbled it might have been improvised by the actors. ~ William Arnold, “Seattle Post-Intelligencer”

The “bad” quote above is just one of many that I could have pulled from as Lady in the Water was hated by critics on a massive level. Personally, it may be my favorite Shyamalan film. I was drawn into its story and took it for what it was supposed to be, a bedtime story. I didn’t expect logic or anything more than a story that seemed to be made-up as it went along.

The scene in which Paul Giamatti as apartment manager Cleveland Heep lays down as if he is a ten-year-old boy anxious to hear more of the story is how I watched this entire film, and when it comes time for Giamatti’s emotional scene toward the end of the film I was sold.

I don’t think there is much middle ground when it comes to this film. Either you love it or you hate it, the line seems to be clearly drawn.

The look of this film doesn’t really do anything for or against it. There are a few interesting shots, but nothing like what we get from The Village.