Has M. Knight Shyamalan lost his mind? Is he a mad genius or just loopy? Has he created a masterpiece or a mess? These are the questions I'm still grappling with after watching THE LADY IN THE WATER. This is most interestingly beautiful, confusing, and downright strange films I've have ever seen. Wow, trying to come up with words to explain what's going on in my mind after watching this film is impossible. I'm not sure if I've seen the future of the cinema or the end of a popular director's career. But I do know that THE LADY IN THE WATER cannot be ignored.
I think walking into this film, I had many preconceived notions. I know what an M. Knight Shyamalan film is, or at least what it's supposed to be. But THE LADY IN THE WATER challenges every one of those notions. There's no surprise ending, there are very few scares, and the film feels sloppy, half-hearted, overly confusing, and I understand why most will dismiss it. This is a movie that can't quite be nailed down and since the film bucks any and all convention. It's easy to find the conventional flaws everywhere.
The acting is disjointed, the plot is a mess, the dialogue is overly simple, the story is far too complicated and it all combines into something that seems pieced together on the fly. It feels almost as if Shyamalan has drawn a line in the sand. This line is all logic. This line is how far he expects us to go, and then out of nowhere the line suddenly falls apart. Shyamalan pushes us so past the line, it's easy to just give up. I think the line comes at a different point for each of us. The line disappeared to me when the little boy begins to read cereal boxes. It is so weird, so out of left field. This was at that point in which I had to decide if I should give up any semblance of logic and just give in to the sheer absurdity of it, or whether I should give up and pan it. Where that lines falls with you, may decide if you have a positive reaction to the film or not.
The plot is simple, or maybe not. A "Narf" named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) shows up in a pool at The Cove, and apartment community in Philadelphia. What's a "Narf?" Well it's kind of like a mermaid with human feet, or maybe more like an angel or a muse that lives underwater, both would be appropriate. Anyway Story is rescued by The Cove's resident superintendent Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti). Story is looking for a writer who's written work will cause a positive change in the world forever. On that trail Cleveland must protect Story from an evil creature bent on destroying her.
But what is this movie exactly? It is a bedtime story come to life. It's a fanciful yarn, a child's story and a wild imagination run amok. Like how MULLHOLLAND DRIVE was dream realized on film, THE LADY IN THE WATER is a campfire tale, it's not a terribly cohesive, and demands that the audience put the pieces together. I liken it to the weird tales I created with my action figures as a kid, or a nonsense story that a first grader may try to write. It's not designed to be pulled apart, just experienced at that moment. None of the pieces quite fit, a lot of times if feels as if the film is grasping for straws. Sensing that it's lost most of the audience it gives into its oddness, and it revels in it. But is that by design?
The other side of the coin is that this is a badly made movie. It's the wild ranting of an over zealous personality. The first credit you see as the film comes to a close is "Written, Produced, and Directed by M. Knight Shyamalan" and since he's been so successful maybe this film is an example of what happens when you allow a director too much room, and no editorial comment from the studio. Maybe this is a self-indulgent vanity piece, a sloppy mess of a movie that would have been easily dismissed had it not been created by Shyamalan himself.
Honestly, I don't know where I fall. I think I want to see the movie again. But I like the notion that this could be a step in the right direction for film as a whole. That Shayamalan has crafted a film that way ahead of its time. I'd hate to realize that there is nothing there because it would rob that odd sense of madcap joy I experienced with the film.
THE LADY IN THE WATER is the perfect remedy for what's wrong in Hollywood. Even if you hate every single moment of it, it encourages strong reactions. Whether that reaction is confusion, anger, or awe, this film cannot be easily ignored. So at this moment I think I will argue that THE LADY IN THE WATER is a brilliant film. That Shyamalan will get ribbed for it now, but will later be rewarded with a strong cult following. It's easily the best film I've seen all year.
I think walking into this film, I had many preconceived notions. I know what an M. Knight Shyamalan film is, or at least what it's supposed to be. But THE LADY IN THE WATER challenges every one of those notions. There's no surprise ending, there are very few scares, and the film feels sloppy, half-hearted, overly confusing, and I understand why most will dismiss it. This is a movie that can't quite be nailed down and since the film bucks any and all convention. It's easy to find the conventional flaws everywhere.
The acting is disjointed, the plot is a mess, the dialogue is overly simple, the story is far too complicated and it all combines into something that seems pieced together on the fly. It feels almost as if Shyamalan has drawn a line in the sand. This line is all logic. This line is how far he expects us to go, and then out of nowhere the line suddenly falls apart. Shyamalan pushes us so past the line, it's easy to just give up. I think the line comes at a different point for each of us. The line disappeared to me when the little boy begins to read cereal boxes. It is so weird, so out of left field. This was at that point in which I had to decide if I should give up any semblance of logic and just give in to the sheer absurdity of it, or whether I should give up and pan it. Where that lines falls with you, may decide if you have a positive reaction to the film or not.
The plot is simple, or maybe not. A "Narf" named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) shows up in a pool at The Cove, and apartment community in Philadelphia. What's a "Narf?" Well it's kind of like a mermaid with human feet, or maybe more like an angel or a muse that lives underwater, both would be appropriate. Anyway Story is rescued by The Cove's resident superintendent Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti). Story is looking for a writer who's written work will cause a positive change in the world forever. On that trail Cleveland must protect Story from an evil creature bent on destroying her.
But what is this movie exactly? It is a bedtime story come to life. It's a fanciful yarn, a child's story and a wild imagination run amok. Like how MULLHOLLAND DRIVE was dream realized on film, THE LADY IN THE WATER is a campfire tale, it's not a terribly cohesive, and demands that the audience put the pieces together. I liken it to the weird tales I created with my action figures as a kid, or a nonsense story that a first grader may try to write. It's not designed to be pulled apart, just experienced at that moment. None of the pieces quite fit, a lot of times if feels as if the film is grasping for straws. Sensing that it's lost most of the audience it gives into its oddness, and it revels in it. But is that by design?
The other side of the coin is that this is a badly made movie. It's the wild ranting of an over zealous personality. The first credit you see as the film comes to a close is "Written, Produced, and Directed by M. Knight Shyamalan" and since he's been so successful maybe this film is an example of what happens when you allow a director too much room, and no editorial comment from the studio. Maybe this is a self-indulgent vanity piece, a sloppy mess of a movie that would have been easily dismissed had it not been created by Shyamalan himself.
Honestly, I don't know where I fall. I think I want to see the movie again. But I like the notion that this could be a step in the right direction for film as a whole. That Shayamalan has crafted a film that way ahead of its time. I'd hate to realize that there is nothing there because it would rob that odd sense of madcap joy I experienced with the film.
THE LADY IN THE WATER is the perfect remedy for what's wrong in Hollywood. Even if you hate every single moment of it, it encourages strong reactions. Whether that reaction is confusion, anger, or awe, this film cannot be easily ignored. So at this moment I think I will argue that THE LADY IN THE WATER is a brilliant film. That Shyamalan will get ribbed for it now, but will later be rewarded with a strong cult following. It's easily the best film I've seen all year.