Lady In The Water

[DotTheEyes]

TRAILER: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/ladyinthewater/trailer3/

As my avatar suggests, I'm a huge fan of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan and am very excited to see his latest movie, Lady In The Water. In my opinion, he's the best suspense director of his generation. He, in the tradition of the genre's pioneers, pays attention to composition and strives to create atmosphere and genuine thrills. His style is refreshing as most 21st century genre directors have one goal: gross audiences out with over-the-top gore. Don't get me wrong, low-rent gorefests can be quite fun, but it's nice to know there's a movie creator (Shyamalan) out there who stills remembers how powerful an expert jolt can be -- the type of jolt created by Alfred Hitchcock with films such as The Birds, North by Northwest, and Psycho.

Lady In The Water could very well be his best film yet. For one, it has a fantastic cast. Paul Giamatti is a brilliant character actor as his performances in Cinderella Man and Sideways proved. I'm glad he's been given the chance to carry a mainstream movie. Bryce Dallas Howard (director Ron's daughter) was excellent as the blind protagonist of Shyamalan's The Village and should be equally strong here as the titular lady. Also, I find the idea of a Brothers Grimm-style fairy tale playing out in our time and world fascinating -- it's the perfect idea for a suspense-thriller with magical elements.

I hope to see this early on Friday, July 21st, and will post my thoughts here. Hopefully they're positive or I'll be extremely disappointed.

 

[KingFish]

Let me know what you thought. I am leaning towards "it's a rental" just judging by the trailers.

 

[hvp05]

I saw part of a "behind the scenes" documentary about this yesterday. Like his other stories, there is a good deal of suspense with other sensations for good measure, and it's presented with a complex arrangement of characters.

I did appreciate his attention to detail when, after not being able to find a suitable shooting location, he requested that the entire apartment building set be constructed.

I really enjoyed "The Village", but overall I think his stories are okay. I will probably wait for this one as well.

 

[BlackSheep]

The movie is about a narf, a gentle sea nymph-

 

[greyhound]

I really enjoyed "The Village", but overall I think his stories are okay. I will probably wait for this one as well.

I wanted to see "The Village" until a friend gave away the ending.

 

[Lilypad]

The movie is about a narf, a gentle sea nymph-

Star of this movie, Paul Giamatti is a strange character actor-loved him in American Splendor and Cinderella Man.
He looks like his name should be Wally.

 

[DotTheEyes]

M. Night Shyamalan's done it again! Lady In The Water is his latest tale of suspense. This time, he mixes the thrills with bedtime story magic to tell the story of a shy apartment building superintendent who finds a mysterious creature in the swimming pool. I won't say anymore about the plot. To do so would be unfair because it might steal the many plot twists and turns of their impressive power.

I will, however, say the film is extremely well-made. There are moments where you can cut the atmospheric tension with a knife and the cinematography, though low-key, is quite stylish and intriuging. The design of the many creatures is also excellent -- very creative and unique. It's also very well-acted. Paul Giamatti, of Cinderella Man and Sideways fame, disappears into his character and gives an authentic, charming performance. Bryce Dallas Howard (The Da Vinci Code director Ron Howard's daughter) is also good and manages even to bring heartfelt grace to her mysterious, strange role.

This is one of those rare movies which has you feeling many emotions throughout. There's terror, yes, but also plenty of hilarious comic relief and even emotional drama (especially in the last 30 minutes). Great, great movie.

Recommended!

 

[Lilypad]

Aha! Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter) kept thinkin I recognized her!

 

[BuddyLee]

Mr. Dot, what did you think of The Village. I personally loved it even if most others did not.

 

[DotTheEyes]

I thought it had a few flaws (most films do), but it was, overall, a good thriller. Public reaction was so bad, in my opinion, because they advertised it as if it was an all-out creature feature, even though it was, in reality, a fairly subtle, if clever character-based thriller. It bordered on just being a creepy drama. I believe people expected more 'horror action.'

 

[Bruzilla]

I have two pet peeves with the films. First, I thought The Sixth Sense was just about perfect. It's one of those movies that has you sitting for close to two hours thinking this is the worst movie I've ever seen, then in a minute shows you how wrong you were. The only other movie I've seen that did that was Field of Dreams, and I think both moviews are great. But like a great practical joke, they usually only work once. Watching the rest of his movies leaves me always looking for what the "catch" is. What am I suppossed to be overlooking until the end? I think a lot of people are the same way, and Shyamalan has been making things more and more complicated, which I think makes his stories less believeable. Watching The Sixth Sense was like watching a pitcher with a .050 batting average hit a grand slam home run. Watching The Village or Signs was like watching Babe Ruth pointing to left field.

My other peeve is the way that they market his movies. If you want to make a subtle thriller then advertise it as a subtle thriller and not a horror movie or a sci-fi feature. Shyamalan's weak plots aren't strong enough to compensate of feeling like you got ripped off.

 

[BuddyLee]

I'll be seeing this tonight, I'll give you guys my review sometime soon.

 

[DotTheEyes]

Hope you enjoy it, BuddyLee.

By the way, Lady In The Water doesn't actually have one big twist, the way The Sixth Sense and The Village did. It's more along the lines of Signs, where a series of smaller surprises form the message and power of the last act.

 

[BuddyLee]

Hope you enjoy it, BuddyLee.

By the way, Lady In The Water doesn't actually have one big twist, the way The Sixth Sense and The Village did. It's more along the lines of Signs, where a series of smaller surprises form the message and power of the last act.

It was worth the $7.50 to me and my party at least.

The film, like most other Shyamalan films, has a certain difference in it that other films cannot seem to match. What I like about Shyamalan films the most is that he brings out an abundance of thought and meaning into each of his works.

As Mr. Dot suggested, Paul Giamatti put forth a superb performance. The film overall is very magical, probably moreso than Shyamalan's other films. The only thing that I didn't quite like 100% (but still didn't detract my liking from the movie overall) was that it was almost too good to be true. In fact, it was too good to be true. Any rational human being wouldn't do all of what Mr. Cleveland and the cast of tennants do in the movie, perhaps this is the mystic behind the movie though. Perhaps, the nymph holds some god-like hypnotism over these mere mortals.

The film had a bit of comedy and horror to it, which I enjoyed. It wasn't devoted to one particular genre. When the film/book critic is in the hallway with the beast, one almost has to laugh. I have to think that Shyamalan was poking fun at all these cookie cutter directors/critics who seem to criticize Shyamalan's expertise on being 'different' but 'different' with a deepness in symbolic meaning...sometimes philosophical meaning. The film/book critic is assuredly wrong in determinging who is who, yet another score for Shyamalan.

I'll have to wait until this comes out on dvd, I'm sure there's tons to dissect.