Undescribable Perfection

Better Late Then Never

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Blistering performances.

The start of the relentless downhill slope that is Shyamalan's career, this fantasy drama is murkier than polluted swamp water. What did I just witness? Seriously, I mean seriously! This isn't a film, it's a production that conveys his self-indulgence as he, not only writes, produces and directs this atrocity, but also plays a supporting role to which his character is a "visionary whose writing changes the world". That's not even the worst part! Right, so a superintendent of an apartment complex encounters a young girl in the swimming pool who he discovers to be a water nymph whose life is endangered by a beastly wolf creature. So, the residents assist in returning her to the "Blue World". How? Let me just clear my throat, get ready...! By seeking everyone's purpose in life so that the Symbolist can read cereal boxes to identify a Guild of seven sisters, discover the Healer and the true Guardian, so that a giant eagle can swoop in and ferry her back to the "Blue World" before she succumbs to the wounds from the Scrunt who avoids tree monkey peacekeepers known as the "Tartutic". What. The. Actual. Heck? I'm flabbergasted. Astonished. Shell shocked. Fantasy films are fantastic for evoking imagination and an underlying sense of creativity. But this is not the way to do it. It's not! Characterisation was weaker than diluted juice. The expositional narrative had fewer thrills than a tsunami. The acting, aside from Giamatti who just couldn't save the story from drowning, was more painful than accidentally getting shampoo in your eyes. Honestly, I was blinded by Shyamalan's acting. He actually thought he could act! The plot itself is nonsensical, not because it's an overwhelmingly fictitious story, but because it's undisputedly unfocused. It was as if Shyamalan was writing the story during the filming of the production. It's not metaphorical. It's not allegorical. It's a fractured fairytale that will leave anyone perplexed. Possibly one of the worst cinematic disasters I have witnessed. A damp fantasy flick that, when rinsed, drips drops of vapidity.

You should know, and thoroughly accept, that this is a presentation of an original children's bedtime story, and a GREAT story it is. This is an example of story telling which involves many characters, each with a specific and cryptic role to fulfill, and the more you understand the background on each character, the more enjoyable it is. The story is unpredictable and keeps you guessing - and guessing wrong, while the characters each represent some nuance of society. I must mention, that Paul Giamatti (Cleveland Heep) plays, perhaps, the most believable character EVER. He is a broken-broken, lost, lonely, shell of a once happy man and I believe every second of his performance, and it's never over-acted. His performance is brilliant. Here are brief statements about how it "made me feel": I stayed captivated by the story and where it was leading (great original story telling). I was memorized by Cleveland Heep and his state of mind (his character is relatable to me). It made me laugh out loud at times, and made my heart race at others and sometimes it made me feel silly. I am sure I smiled and leaned forward for the entire movie. It made me hopeful and uplifted my spirit. After the movie, I knew I had been on a great adventure, through story telling - and that's the reason I watch movies. In my opinion, it's one of M. Night Shyamalan's best stories yet. Congratulations Sir, I get it... even if the populous criticized it too much.

I have read countless reviews of this movie and it makes me so happy that M has gotten the best of so many people with this movie. The simplicity is the genius behind it. The story and the characters are so much more complex than what you can gather from watching it. It requires one thing to watch a movie and understand what's happening and that's a willing suspension of disbelief. This movie requires two - WSD and Willingness to Understand something you can't actually see because you are distracted by the movie itself looking and seeming dull and uninvolved.THE COVE - is the place where damaged and strange outcasts all wind up (a cove by definition is a small SHELTERED bay) Mr. HEEP - (heap - a messy pile or great amount of stress put upon someone) Harry Farber - Cleveland's emptiness & loneliness unimpressed and uninvolved Story - Cleveland's fragile faith in god or love or life needing to be savedThese are just a FRACTION of the subtle genius in this film.Spend some time considering that this movie is probably one of the most well- developed and thoughtful ideas every put on screen. The only issue is that M's vision was so advanced not everyone can see it.

When I feel weak I usually play music or watch something that lifts me up. Today I watched The Lady in the Water with Paul Giamatti. I never ever put much faith into the general critique of a movie. If a person is not in touch with that inside themselves which the movie is trying to make them feel, their perception of it will be obviously be totally different than the writer/director intended. I have fiercely protected my inner child, and the shreds of innocence that I have left. It's a huge part of me, one of the best parts. I feel that his movie intended to give us back some of our innocence, to help us feel that even the least brave or "significant" of us may somehow be important to furthering the noble and good things in the world, to somehow make things better. Innocence and purity of spirit? That's a fantasy movie I can get behind. I feel better having watched it, surely that is a wonderful thing, better than any drug I know of. So if you haven't seen it and you read some reviews on it some day, give it a chance.