Lady in the Water
Lady in the Water
Written and Directed by M Night Shyamalan
Starring Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, and all the tenants of that apartment.
Now, maybe this will eventually become one of those guilty pleasures, since many many critics have dismantled this movie as senseless, boring, pointless, and many other things. Truth be told, almost all the M Night Shyamalan movies are guilty pleasures of sorts for me. People generally cringe when I say I enjoy Signs or Unbreakable, or even The Village. Well, I watched Lady in the Water and midway through the movie I said to my friend beside me, "You know, I'm actually really enjoying this."
Basically it's about this girl, Story (Howard), who dropped from the wherever she came from, the Blue World, to seek some guy out... some guy who'll change the world. Cleveland Heep (Giamatti) finds her living in the swimming pool of the apartments that he manages and protects us and helps her in her quest. So that's the story. 100% of it revolves around the apartment block, its tenants, and the swimming pool. The story takes on a fairy tale twist. Basically Heep and the other tenants are like characters from fairy tales, aiding the protaganist in her quest to return home, while fending off the evil monsters in the grass.
He is he one.
Giamatti pulls off his stuttering/non-stuttering role well, and Bryce Dallas Howard interchanges between being inspiring and careful very accurately. Shyamalan, instead of taking on his usual cameo performance, actually has a rather prominent role in the film. Most of the supporting cast are unique and interesting. The story doesn't entirely make sense, but hey, it's a fairy tale. Fairy tales never make sense anyway. Casting logic aside, the ride is a truly fun one, taking twist after twist, turn after turn, bump after bump, and growl after growl.
I see dead people.
One of the rare positive for a Shyamalan film is the superb photography. Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village all had okay cinematography, but Lady in the Water is a carefully filmed masterpiece. The colors were both pale and stark at the same time. The butterflies fluttering with significance, Story telling of her quest while water from the shower keeps her safe... the mood was well set by clever visuals. Then when the credits rolled in I saw that Christopher Doyle was the DOP. Ah, no wonder. Doyle was the DOP for a few of Wong Kar Wai and Zhang Yi Mou's more successful films, and well, now he's done it again.
And James Newton Howard again presents a magnificent piece of composition that never rises to gargantuan proportions, but complements the pace of the film. Whatever seams the film had (and there were a few), the music distracts the viewers from it.
So it would seem that I have nothing bad to say about this film. Well. Here you go
Rating: B+
It's okay, Paul. It's just a pool.
Written and Directed by M Night Shyamalan
Starring Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, and all the tenants of that apartment.
Now, maybe this will eventually become one of those guilty pleasures, since many many critics have dismantled this movie as senseless, boring, pointless, and many other things. Truth be told, almost all the M Night Shyamalan movies are guilty pleasures of sorts for me. People generally cringe when I say I enjoy Signs or Unbreakable, or even The Village. Well, I watched Lady in the Water and midway through the movie I said to my friend beside me, "You know, I'm actually really enjoying this."
Basically it's about this girl, Story (Howard), who dropped from the wherever she came from, the Blue World, to seek some guy out... some guy who'll change the world. Cleveland Heep (Giamatti) finds her living in the swimming pool of the apartments that he manages and protects us and helps her in her quest. So that's the story. 100% of it revolves around the apartment block, its tenants, and the swimming pool. The story takes on a fairy tale twist. Basically Heep and the other tenants are like characters from fairy tales, aiding the protaganist in her quest to return home, while fending off the evil monsters in the grass.
He is he one.
Giamatti pulls off his stuttering/non-stuttering role well, and Bryce Dallas Howard interchanges between being inspiring and careful very accurately. Shyamalan, instead of taking on his usual cameo performance, actually has a rather prominent role in the film. Most of the supporting cast are unique and interesting. The story doesn't entirely make sense, but hey, it's a fairy tale. Fairy tales never make sense anyway. Casting logic aside, the ride is a truly fun one, taking twist after twist, turn after turn, bump after bump, and growl after growl.
I see dead people.
One of the rare positive for a Shyamalan film is the superb photography. Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village all had okay cinematography, but Lady in the Water is a carefully filmed masterpiece. The colors were both pale and stark at the same time. The butterflies fluttering with significance, Story telling of her quest while water from the shower keeps her safe... the mood was well set by clever visuals. Then when the credits rolled in I saw that Christopher Doyle was the DOP. Ah, no wonder. Doyle was the DOP for a few of Wong Kar Wai and Zhang Yi Mou's more successful films, and well, now he's done it again.
And James Newton Howard again presents a magnificent piece of composition that never rises to gargantuan proportions, but complements the pace of the film. Whatever seams the film had (and there were a few), the music distracts the viewers from it.
So it would seem that I have nothing bad to say about this film. Well. Here you go
Rating: B+
It's okay, Paul. It's just a pool.
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