|
"Mirror, Mirror, On
the Wall... Who's the
Fairest of them All?" |
 |
Directed by M. Night
Shyamalan - Written by
M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Bryce Dallas
Howard, Paul Giamatti &
M. Night Shyamalan
Distributed by Warner
Bros -
2006 - 110m - Rated PG |
| |
|
A Fairytale... A Fable... A Story... |
| |
After all... What more
is there? Stories are the reason we go to films. They are the
inspirations for almost every book ever written. Stories are what
grandparents tell grandchildren. They are our history, our legends,
our teachers. Some are short and simple. Others are fantastical and
complex. M. Night Shyamalan is the best storyteller in modern day
cinema... He does it like very few others ever can. He is a romantic.
He is a believer. He is a dreamer. He is the director of this
wonderful bedtime story, "Lady in the Water".
The first words that come to mind after having seen this film include:
courageous; daring; wild; magical; wistful; gentle; regretful;
bittersweet; eccentric. Everything about this film will stir the
imagination and have your heart racing.
Some might claim that film is too wide-eyed and utterly unbelievable.
Some will deride the world of fantasy so easily blended with the
mundane world... that it does not ring true. But so the hell what?
This is a definitive fantasy film, where the moral and the fable and
lessons are so much more important than the plot points.
I have loved all of Shyamalan's films. I wanted to love this film...
and I did. There will be those who have the feeling that this film
won't work for them. They will probably be right. This film will turn
away the logical and the practical, the mathematical and the less
emotive. But for those like me, who feel a little more passionately
than others care to admit to, this film will resonate and should bring
a few tears to your eyes.
The film takes place at The Cove, an apartment building with dozens of
varied characters. Cleveland Heap (Giamatti) is the superintendent of
the building, ambling his way from problem to problem fixing light
bulbs and cleaning the pool. He is concerned with late night splashing
in that pool and he is determined to catch the culprit.
One night, while investigating the mysterious occurrence, he slips and
falls, hurts his head and sinks into the pool. He awakes in his own
apartment and sees her sitting across the room. The 'her' in question
is Story, the "Lady in the Water" (Bryce Dallas Howard).
What follows is hard to describe without giving away the majesty of
Night's storytelling. The connection and interaction between Cleveland
and Story is the beautiful beginning to this elaborate fairytale. She
reveals secrets and ideas which inspire him to find all the characters
necessary to complete the tale. Those characters are hidden in and
among the tenants of The Cove.
Story is from the Blue World and has been sent to meet The Vessel, a
writer with an impactful future. Cleveland must arrange this meeting
and must find a way to protect her until her safe journey home can be
arranged.
I will leave the plot recap at that. The rest will be left to your
imagination and interpretation.
As with all of Shyamalan's films, his characters and spoken words are
all immaculately arranged with precise meaning and intention. He is a
master craftsman of this storytelling artform and is in top form yet
again with this film. The words and ideas are all so powerful that I
was literally moved to tears in the opening monologue, before the
first scene even began to roll. It happened three more times during
the course of the film.
May I just say that Paul Giamatti is still the most underrated actor
of this generation? I know he has been getting a lot of recognition
lately, especially from the indie crowd. But even I had failed to
praise him enough... until now. He is simply brilliant here. And
during one scene near the end of the film, he delivers a speech so
wrought with emotion and regret that it borders on acting perfection.
I was weeping along with him.
Bryce Dallas Howard may just be the best actress under the age of 30.
She follows up her mesmerizing turn in "The Village" with another
nuanced character that exists on a plain separate from almost any
other character I've seen. Story is an innocent being, afraid and
alone, but with determination and trust. Howard grabs the camera lens
with steel gazes and shaken terror. It is another gem on her already
glowing resume.
The film has its fair share of frights and tension... But that is not
the point of this fairytale. This is a fable about loss and regret,
healing and belief. This film is about someone finding their purpose
in life.
Let me say that again... This film is about someone finding their
purpose in life.
I love films like these... Ones that have grander intentions than mere
entertainment. This film takes a chance, a cherished commodity in
today's vanilla society full of sameness and safety. This is a boldly
original film.
If anything makes it arrive an inch short of greatness, it is the
reliance on verbal exposition on too many occasions. There were times
that I felt the film didn't trust the audience to follow along.
Perhaps it should have catered to a more excusive cinema audience. But
that is nit-picking really... This is a marvelous film that will rank
high on my 2006 list.
I fear that the film will be too "weird" for most regular moviegoers.
I fear that it will be looked upon as too naive and too innocent. But
perhaps that is one of the points that the film is making among its
numerous subtexts... That we are too cynical and too non-believing at
times. This film is about a Story that can help us through rough
waters... That can help us feel worthwhile again. This is a Story that
can heal a broken heart. |
| |
|
© Written by TC Candler -
Email Me!
 |
Richard
Propes' Comment
n/a
Jacob
Hall's Comment
I
seriously expected to hate “Lady in the Water.”
I entered the theatre with the internet buzz
about it swarming in my brain. I couldn’t remove
these thoughts from my head. I frequent too many
sites that had trashed the hell out of it. I
just KNEW I was going to hate this film.
And you know what?
I didn’t.
Is it often cheesy? Yes. Does some of the humor
not work? Definitely. Is M. Night Shyamalan
casting himself as a writer whose work will
change the world the very definition of
arrogance? Hell yes! Is the evil film critic
character a sophomoric attack on those who
didn’t like “The Village?” I certainly think so.
The key to liking this film is to watch it using
the fairy tale logic that Shyamalan tells the
story with. This is a simple story that feels
like it was made up as it went along. Plot
points and characters enter the story very
conveniently and so forth. But you know what?
All bedtime stories are made up on the spot, and
like many bedtime stories, this is a sweet,
charming and uplifting tale with enough action
to keep us riveted, enough drama to get the
tears coming and a morale that is satisfying and
puts us to sleep with a grin on our faces.
I have liked all of Shyamalan’s films so far.
“The Sixth Sense” and “Signs” are masterpieces.
“Unbreakable” is fascinating. “The Village” is
flawed, but I do intend to watch it again. “Lady
in the Water” is very different from his films
thus far, but you can already see a very
distinctive style in all of them. Like Scorsese
and Hitchcock, no other film looks like a
Shyamalan film.
|
