Lady in the Water

Well, since I waited until this came out on DVD, I had already read many of the horrid reviews this received, but I decided to keep an open mind. Yes, M Night Shyamalan set the bar absurdly high for himself with The Sixth Sense, and yes, many of his subsequent films sucked hard (namely Unbreakable and Signs). However, I thought The Village was quite clever and despite having anticipated Night's inevitable 'twist' at the end, I was surprised and, more importantly, entertained by it.

Now comes LitW, which is based on a children's book the director wrote for his own kids. Not to say that Night isn't extraordinarily creative and a gifted storyteller, but the plot for this film is just lame. It's a fantasy world that has lots of mythological elements and attempts to weave an engrossing world that kids could get lost in. What comes out in the film, however, is a muddled story full of plot holes and unexplained details that get glossed over. The main character, Cleveland (Paul Giamatti), is visited by a water nymph (Ron Howard's daughter) from a place called the Blue World. The nymph's purpose is to deliver some message to some person that never really is completely clear, while at the same time being chased by some weird dog made out of grass. The setting is an apartment complex somewhere in Pennsylvania (all his movies are set here I think), and as the plot moves forward it becomes apparent that many of the residents of the building are integral and interconnected elements in this nymph's quest.

Anyway, the story builds to a climax, where I was expecting the obligatory 'twist'....except it never comes. The story ends as the fantasy tale comes to its resolution which leaves the viewer with...not much. Confusion, boredom, not a lot of satisfaction. What made me laugh was a statement from Night in one of the DVD's extras. He talks about how epic this story was (that he invented) and how his goal is for it to become a classic tale that parents tell their kids. Fat chance. Number one, it's too scary for little kids. Number two, it's too convoluted for young kids to follow. Number three, it's just plain dull. Little Red Riding Hood this is not...instead we have a snooze of a movie that doesn't even deliver the traditional last minute zing of his other films. If you still want to watch it, maybe wait till they show it on basic cable or something. Don't bother with the DVD.

2 out of 5 stars