Love him or loathe him, M Night Shyamalan quickly rose to fame with the enormous success of the Sixth Sense and has since established himself as a household name. Night a great storyteller. Each movie is so imaginative he nearly deserves enough acclaim to attach his name to the front of all his movies.
"Lady in the Water" was directed, written, produced and acted by Night. Many called Night arrogant after casting himself in the role of a visionary writer who will change the world, if they didn't think that already.
I think Night is a little high on his horse because of the Sixth Sense's great success and inclusion on AFI's top 100 movie list. Night felt he could do anything and people would subscribe to it because his name was at the top.
"Lady in the Water" is a derivation from Night's usual style. There are no big twists in the end. It is a fairy tale. A bed time story for adults. The puzzle does fit together nicely in the end as we were all guessing (or looking for a twist) of how it would culminate.
Night is a bit arrogant and full of himself, but hopefully the massive rejection of this movie will bring him back down to earth. Though not many like this, I found enjoyment and symbolism throughout the strange tale.
Paul Giamatti is the perfect cast in this role and I love him to death. He makes this story world more believable. I do wish that Night would have delved a bit more into the suspicion of the roles of each of the characters. It seemed to go a little too quickly. It tried to get to the end too quickly instead of naturally flowing.
Night takes a shot at critics in this one for their pan of "The Village" by killing off the arrogant and cynical film critic. Maybe this is why so many dislike this movie.
The tree monkeys are some of the coolest things I've seen. They are awesome with their roots and limbs growing on their backs. They were frightening as well.
A thing I have noticed about Night's films is his ridiculously long shots. He will hold a shot until the cows come home. This puts more pressure on the actors, but they perform well. Long shots are not the staple of horror/suspense films in which Night specializes in.
It was pretty cool to see everyone in the apartment come together for the sake of Story and her protection. She came so that man would listen. She inspired change and intellect. She was to pass the "seeds of change."
If we stop and listen, we can find the inspiration for change. We have forgotten how to listen.
Lady is a well-told strikingly original fairy tale, but never establishes itself as something more, something deeper and more meaningful. The suspense is not as well developed as previous Night films. It seems that Night can't live down "The Sixth Sense"
3.5 of 5
