Closet Sci-Fi Geek

OK, I am now convinced that half of the paid movie critics out there are just morons. M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water is not for everyone – literal-minded folks will hate it – but that doesn’t mean it sucks. Critics just don’t seem to get it, though. (It may be in part because Shyamalan gets some satisfying revenge against film critics in the movie…but I won’t spoil the fun by explaining more.)

Part of the problem is that Lady in the Water isn’t your typical film. It can’t be easily pegged into one category. It has some scary moments, but it’s not really a horror film. It’s actually quite funny (intentionally so), but not a comedy. It’s a tearjerker in parts, but not a chick flick. So what the heck is it?

Imagine, if you will, that a myth or bedtime story came happened in present day. All myths and bedtime stories have their archetypes – the hero, the healer, the mystic, etc. Imagine, then, that your every day neighbors actually became part of the myth. What would that look like?

Lady in the Water provides the answer – and it’s simultaneously hilarious as all get out while being extremely touching. Here we have an apartment complex, filled with the most bizarre, endearing characters you’d ever want as neighbors. There’s the cat lady, the recluse, the intellectual snob, the dumb jock (this one is working out only “one side of his body”), and the shy superintendent, among others.

The film starts off with the superintendent heroicly smashing into bits a large, hairy bug with the handle of a broom in one of the apartments. The women in this apartment are screaming with terror; when the deed is done, they thank him as if he had just saved them from a fire-breathing dragon.

From there, we are introduced to the quirky characters residing at the apartment complex the Cove, and soon the “Lady in the Water” shows up. She’s a mythological creature, straight out of the depths of the apartment’s pool. She’s here to instigate change, but she’s in trouble. It turns out the everyday folks at the Cove are to become her champions. “Everyone has a purpose,” she tells them.

If this sounds absurd, it absolutely is. And it’s wonderful. The juxtaposition of mundane apartment life with a heroic, mythical quest is something that would seem to be impossible to pull off. Yet, I believe Shyamalan does it beautifully.

A number of elements combine to make this improbable situation work. First, the cinematography is fantastic, turning a normal apartment building into an industrial castle shrouded in mist. Each location within the building is a little world unto itself, and the individual apartments are all decorated in unique ways that express the characters that live within them.

The characters themselves walk a fine line between stereotype and believability. An ongoing commentary from a film critic living in the building pokes fun at these charicatures quite effectively. The film references itself quite cleverly in a number of ways.

Humor is sprinkled throughout the film, showcasing the humanity of the characters as well as the absurdity of the whole thing. At one point, the main character is having an ongoing dialogue with a Korean woman about the mythological creature while her daughter translates through the cellphone. It’s hilarious.

And yet, in spite of the humor, the film is marked by many touching moments, including one extremely powerful scene that had my heart in my throat. The film makes a huge nod to writers, when it explores the power of the written word to change the world. (As a writer, I totally gibe with that. I was inspired!)

All that said, not everyone will enjoy this film. If you expect things to be “realistic” in your films (even in your fantasy films), then you’ll have a hard time swallowing Lady in the Water. If you can take this film as what it is meant to be – a parable, a bedtime story, and a myth – then you’ll find it enjoyable on many levels.

So this is one of those films you’ll either love or hate. I loved it; my friend who saw it with me hated it. A group of older black men were sitting behind us, and as they left the theater, they kept joking, “she should have stayyyyed in the water!!”

As we were discussing the film on the way out, a guy on a bench outside the theater heard us and asked us what we thought. He told us he loved it, thought it was very moving, and couldn’t understand why the critics panned it so much.

I personally think Lady in the Water is one of Shyamalan’s best films, my second favorite after The Sixth Sense. It’s certainly his funniest film. Overall, I feel Lady in the Water is absolutely brilliant and works on many levels, as long as you can suspend your disbelief. I have a feeling it may end up a cult classic.

July 27th, 2006 | Category: Movies | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL