Lady in the Water is all wet
Movie review appeared in Fort McMurray Today July 25, 2006.
By PAULA OGONOSKI
Today staff
M. Night Shyamalan should have abandoned ship on this one. Lady in the Water sinks.
That said, the things I liked about this movie are also the aspects I hated about it.
Shyamalan, known for creating the best twists in movie history with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and The Village, has abandoned his surprise endings in exchange for possibly one of the most unique plots in movie history. While I loved the innovation and the risks taken in this film, Lady in the Water crosses a line and becomes simply ridiculous.
Lonely apartment superintendent Cleveland Heep's (Paul Giamatti) life is forever changed when he meets a mysterious woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) who claims she is from a water world.
To help her go home he rallies an unlikely group of misfits to help her in her journey. But the road home is blocked by a deadly creature who will do whatever it takes to stop her from achieving her mission.
I wanted so desperately to love this film; it had all the ingredients to be a huge success: strong character performances, led by Giamatti and Howard (who also starred in The Village); an intriguing plot; and a blend of genres. But the movie simply drowns.
There are many aspects of the plot the audience is left to contemplate and levels to unfold before you can come to terms with the ending. I'd love to pick Shyamalan's brain and ask him thousands of questions about the story, which left me relatively malnourished. Many things in the film were never fully developed or explained.
While watching the film I kept feeling like there was a vital message trying to be relayed but I just couldn't put all the pieces of this puzzle together to comprehend the moral of the story.
However, while the story itself isn't very good, it's a memorable film nonetheless. Shyamalan is great at creating characters you'd almost like to see in a spin-off. Each person, no matter how small the part, is incredibly intriguing on his or her own.
In the end, if you can look at a Picasso abstract and find some merit in it, then you're still likly to enjoy the innovation of Lady in the Water despite its weak execution.
I couldn't put all the pieces of this puzzle together to comprehend the moral of the story.
LADY IN THE WATER
Starring: Paul Giamatti
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: PG
2 1/2 stars (out of four)
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
By PAULA OGONOSKI
Today staff
M. Night Shyamalan should have abandoned ship on this one. Lady in the Water sinks.
That said, the things I liked about this movie are also the aspects I hated about it.
Shyamalan, known for creating the best twists in movie history with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and The Village, has abandoned his surprise endings in exchange for possibly one of the most unique plots in movie history. While I loved the innovation and the risks taken in this film, Lady in the Water crosses a line and becomes simply ridiculous.
Lonely apartment superintendent Cleveland Heep's (Paul Giamatti) life is forever changed when he meets a mysterious woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) who claims she is from a water world.
To help her go home he rallies an unlikely group of misfits to help her in her journey. But the road home is blocked by a deadly creature who will do whatever it takes to stop her from achieving her mission.
I wanted so desperately to love this film; it had all the ingredients to be a huge success: strong character performances, led by Giamatti and Howard (who also starred in The Village); an intriguing plot; and a blend of genres. But the movie simply drowns.
There are many aspects of the plot the audience is left to contemplate and levels to unfold before you can come to terms with the ending. I'd love to pick Shyamalan's brain and ask him thousands of questions about the story, which left me relatively malnourished. Many things in the film were never fully developed or explained.
While watching the film I kept feeling like there was a vital message trying to be relayed but I just couldn't put all the pieces of this puzzle together to comprehend the moral of the story.
However, while the story itself isn't very good, it's a memorable film nonetheless. Shyamalan is great at creating characters you'd almost like to see in a spin-off. Each person, no matter how small the part, is incredibly intriguing on his or her own.
In the end, if you can look at a Picasso abstract and find some merit in it, then you're still likly to enjoy the innovation of Lady in the Water despite its weak execution.
I couldn't put all the pieces of this puzzle together to comprehend the moral of the story.
LADY IN THE WATER
Starring: Paul Giamatti
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: PG
2 1/2 stars (out of four)
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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