Lady in the Water

We didn't see Lady in the Water when it came out primarily because of mediocre reviews. Not many critics thought it was a decent film, and we really didn't want to waste our time and money on a film that wouldn't be worthwhile. It recently came out on DVD, and so we rented it. I'm kind of wondering what movie the critics were reviewing, as this thing is one of M. Night Shyamalan's best films since The Sixth Sense (although Signs is a really strong contender in my book).

Effectively this is a fairy tale. Not the charming, innocent fairy tales that the Shrek movies lampoon so well, but rather a dark and dangerous fairy tale that the Brothers Grimm would have written (the real ones, not the movie ones). It's set in an apartment complex, which Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) manages, and is filled with much quirkier characters than are usually in a single apartment building. Cleveland finds a "Narf" (I'm kind of surprised there wasn't a creture named a "poit"), and asks the local Korean family about it. They start relating the fairy tale within the fairy tale, but not in one sitting. As the story unfolds, several iconic characters are mentioned, and Cleveland starts figuring what roles people in the apartment complex play in the story. M. Night Shyamalan plays a much larger part in this one than he usually plays in his films; it seems a bit self-indulgent at first (he plays a writer who will go on to change the world with his book), but it's a convincing character, and it's really tough to direct oneself and be good at both.

This story could have been told in twenty minutes, but it unfolds over a much longer period of time. This is not to say it should have been twenty minutes, but it could have been done quicker, to its detriment. It was a great film, as long as it should be, and not a moment longer.

This is a character piece, really. The plot is interesting, but you're introduced to a number of different characters that are all really quirky and fun to get to know. The characters turn what would otherwise be a good movie into a great one (when I say great, I don't mean Bridge on the River Kwai great, but Signs great).

I highly recommend this film. If you haven't seen it yet, put it on your netflix list (or whatever you use to rent films) and see it soon.