M. Night is a mysterious man with a legion of adoring fans and apologists. What is most mysterious to me, though, is that he is given endless tries to be as successful as he was in the beginning. Many fans enjoyed one or two of his films (I'm partial to "Unbreakable"), but few enjoy them all. Yet, every time he makes a new film it seems this one is a "must-see" because it "might" be as great as the others. I want to say this because I think "Lady in the Water" is the film that people will finally realize this man is not perfect.
The story revolves around a woman from another world who comes to find a writer who will be inspired to write a story. Along the way she also recruits the help of a variety of people to be guardians, healers, a guild and other archetypes as outlined in an old Asian myth. If that was not clear, don't worry: it really is that strange, and all this before the camouflage wolves and monkeys.
The cast is nothing special and the characters are interesting but forgettable. I found myself by the end of the film forgetting who characters were that I had been introduced to only an hour before. More often than not, the audience is not given enough time to become acquainted with any of the characters, leaving them all very one-dimensional. Even the lady's motivations are largely unknown and unclear, and once her mission is finished we are still left with another hour of story that seems pointless if you think about it.
personally, i found the film's only redeeming aspect to be the character of the film critic. His breaking of the fourth wall (indirectly, he never addresses the audience) was quite amusing when he explained what each character represented and gave his idea of the difference between a PG and an R horror film, even invoking the "Scream" theory of horror - that no sex and drugs means you'll live.
give "the village" a second chance before you rent this movie, and only rent it if you really, truly feel m. night deserves one more chance at greatness.
