I'm probably gonna catch a lotta flack for this, but I'm just gonna come right out and say it: I really liked "Lady in the Water." Yes, it's hokey, yes, suspension of disbelief is on overdrive, and yes, it borders on silly, but I really like what M. Night Shyamalan is doing here. It's ballsy, it's audacious, and I'm sure he knew that a lotta people would hate the film. Most of you who saw the film are probably reading this and thinking that I must be on crack or something, but no, I genuinely liked "Lady in the Water."
I think that what most people are gonna take issue with is the fact that they walked in expecting something scary, and instead, it's practically a children's movie. "Lady in the Water" did seem to be marketed as a dark and scary movie, but I also remember seeing it billed as "A Bedtime Story by M. Night Shyamalan," and that's pretty much what this movie is. In fact, the movie really is based on a bedtime story M. Night Shyamalan wrote for his kids. I don't have a problem with that, though. If "Lady in the Water" is a children's story, then it's a children's story that's a lot like the kind told by Roald Dahl, and that's pretty damn good.
The characters in "Lady in the Water" are really quirky, much more quirky than you'd normally find in an M. Night Shyamalan film, and I like that a lot. Also, they have really cool names, my favorite being the name of the main character, "Cleveland Heep." Again, this is all stuff you might find in a book written by Roald Dahl.
A big reason for me liking "Lady in the Water" as much as I do has to do with not knowing what was gonna happen next. I knew very little about the movie going in, and I enjoyed watching the story unfold. I don't think I'll like it as much the second or third time around, though. Two of M. Night Shyamalan's other films, "The Sixth Sense" and especially "Unbreakable" (my favorite from him) are movies that I can watch repeatedly, but "Lady in the Water" is more like two of his other films, "The Village" and "Signs," both of which I liked, but neither of which I wanna sit through again. Still, I like "Lady in the Water" enough to say that it's my favorite movie from Shyamalan since "Unbreakable."
While watching the movie, it was clear that M. Night Shyamalan was trying to say a few things while telling his story. For instance, he cast himself in a big role, the biggest role he ever gave himself in one of his films. Not only that, the role is pivotal one. I don't wanna get into spoiler territory, so the only other thing I'll say about the character he plays is that there's more to it than what I've written, and there's no way that it's a coincidence that he cast himself as that character. Does it say something about Shyamalan's ego, or is there something else? I think part of the answer lies in another character in the movie, a film critic, and... okay, I gotta stop there. You have to see the movie, okay?
The cast is great, they're all fantastic. Paul Giamatti, one of our best living actors, plays the guy named "Cleveland Heep." His character is complex, and perhaps because he's the main character, he's the least quirky, but he's got so much depth and tragic angst that you can't help but want good things to happen to him. As you might expect, Giamatti plays him brilliantly, and even though I doubt he'll get an Oscar nomination for his performance in this kinda movie, that doesn't mean that an Oscar nomination isn't deserved. The title character is played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who played the blind girl in Shyamalan's previous film, "The Village." This must have been a tough role for her to play, it was certainly unflattering (Bryce Dallas Howard is beautiful, but this isn't the kind of role that takes advantage of her beauty). She's excellent in the movie, and she helps make the unbelievable believable. They're joined by the likes of Bob Balaban, Jared Harris, Mary Beth Hurt, Bill Irwin, Freddy Rodríguez, Jeffrey Wright, and several others, and all of them are great. Even Mr. Shyamalan does a good job with his character.
"Lady in the Water" isn't a movie that everyone is gonna love. Some are gonna walk out of the theater thinking that they just saw one of the lamest, stupidest movies they've ever seen. Those who are critical of M. Night Shyamalan's films will probably hate it the most, because a lot of what they hate, there's even more of in this movie. I can also see some M. Night Shyamalan fans being disappointed with it. All I can tell you is that I enjoyed it. You can agree or disagree with me, but yeah, I liked it. A lot.
Scale of 1-10: 9