|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Movie Forums :: Reviews :: Lady in the Water |
|
 |
|
|
Posted on 7/23/06
Lady in the Water
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
|
|
| Rating... |
|
If there's one thing that characterizes M. Night Shyamalan's filmography, it is the way he jumps from genre to genre, all the while applying his stylistic tint to each of them. When he gave us The Sixth Sense, he was giving us his version of a horror film. With Unbreakable, his version of a superhero origin story. With Signs, his version of a science-fiction film. And with The Village, his version of a love story/period piece. No matter how familiar the subject material seems at first, Shyamalan always has an original take on it.
Lady in the Water is no exception. In this instance we get an up-close look at a fairy tale through those same Night-colored glasses. And, like the efforts mentioned above, Shyamalan lets his penchant for horror and thrills seep out once or twice.
The film opens with a short series of moving sketches that help underscore the "bedtime story" element of the production. From there, we're introduced to the film's numerous characters. Most of our time, however, is spent with Cleveland Heep, played by Paul Giamatti. Cleveland is the superintendent of an apartment complex called "The Cove." One day, he slips and falls by the complex's swimming pool, knocking himself out. He falls in, and is rescued by the titular Lady (named "Story"), played by Bryce Dallas Howard. Story's mission is that of the movie's: namely, to be seen. She's looking for a person in the complex who, upon seeing her, will be inspired to do something of great consequence to mankind.
It is at this point that any number of made-up words will enter the film's vocabularly; words such as "narf" and "scrunt." Your reaction to the introduction of these words, it is safe to say, will mirror your reaction to the film in general.
Your average viewer has a goofiness threshold that Lady in the Water crosses on more than one occasion. Even those who go into the film with an open mind, willing to suspend disbelief and mentally prepared for the sort of chaotic creativity that must populate such a "bedtime story," will find themselves chuckling more than a few times at how over-the-top it all is.
The film is at its best when it is entirely self-aware, and even self-referential. This is made possible through Bob Balaban, who plays film critic Harry Farber. On more than one occasion, Farber simply tells us what ought to happen next, in accordance with what he sees as the standard Hollywood formula.
Similarly, the film's silliness is tolerable, and even charming, when the characters involved are aware of it. Unfortunately, as the film goes on it increasingly glosses over their skepticism and self-consciousness about what they're doing, turning into merely a story, rather than a story about people who wonder whether or not they're in a story; a far more compelling concept that we're given tantalizing glimpses of throughout the film's 110 minute runtime.
Ultimately, though, Lady in the Water only touches on these intriguing possibilities briefly. Just as the film is about to destroy the fourth wall, the fairy tale elements wrest control again, and discerning audience members are left wondering what could have been.
Technically, the film is beyond reproach. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle has a field day with the elements he's given to work with, and the cast is solid throughout. Even Shyamalan himself, in his largest role to date, is passable as a writer searching for a muse. Paul Giamatti is, predictably, the film's standout. He steals the show and wrenches the heart with a scene late in the film where he admits things to near-strangers that he's possibly never even admitted to himself.
In the end, Lady in the Water tries to be too many things. It is too serious to be a fairy tale, too whimsical and childish to be taken seriously, and just self-referential enough to take us out of the movie, yet not quite self-referential enough to qualify as self-parody. What could have been a witty take on the lack of originality in Tinseltown ultimately becomes a cautionary tale on what happens when creativity isn't properly bottled, and overflows.
» Latest Reviews
» More Reviews in "Fantasy"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
