Lady in the Water
Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeffrey Wright ; Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Cleveland Heap is the residential maintenance manager and repairman for The Cove, an apartment complex that houses a bizarre conglomeration of inhabitants. There’s the bodybuilder who has dedicated himself to working out on only the right side of his body, the little boy who interprets hidden messages from the backs of cereal boxes, and the acerbic mother who will only act civil to those who appear to still possess their childlike innocence.
Soon, Cleveland meets the apartment’s strangest occupant - a frightened and unearthly young girl who has been living at the bottom of the swimming pool. He eventually discovers that she is a Narf, a sea nymph, who has been charged with awakening destiny in the heart of a pre-chosen resident somewhere in the apartment. Once this has been done, she will be carried away by a great eagle and returned to her people. But there are complications. For one, murderous creatures are living in the lawn near the pool - creatures the size of large wolves who have poisonous claws and an unfortunate fondness for Narf flesh. Cleveland resolves to help the young woman return to her people unharmed, embarking on a self-appointed quest to find ‘the one’, while overcoming all hazards and dangers along the way. But the problem soon becomes larger than he can handle, and if the Narf is to survive, he must rally the apartment dwellers together. And this may be the most hopeless task of all.
This story was intriguing, and it never let the audience out of the game. There was always new information to receive; always a hidden passage to explore that had gone overlooked before. When Cleveland finds that certain residents of the apartment have specific roles to play for the safety of the Narf, we spend the rest of the movie trying to figure out who these pre-ordained people are. This film is largely a mystery, not a horror flick, as the previews had suggested. Paul Giamatti gives a fine performance as Cleveland Heap, the most kind-hearted and unassuming maintenance manager there ever was. Early on, we discover that Cleveland has a stuttering problem. Now, this kind of fault would seem to be begging for a vote of sympathy from the audience, but Mr. Giamatti never plays it that way. There is an undercurrent of rage and pain running through him. He gains our respect through the courage, strength, and faith we see that he possesses, rather than any physical weakness. The gifted Bryce Dallas Howard portrays the Narf named Story. Her hauntingly ethereal countenance alone is enough to convince us that she is a sea nymph. There is no special effects makeup, no sequined fishtail or slimy fins. Her depiction is so pure and innocent, you would think that Ms. Howard had never even known of any wickedness or immorality in the world. She knows only of love, purpose, and fear - and these in the purest strains.
There was really only one big problem I had with this film. Director M. Night Shyamalan has a tendency to cast himself in very small bit parts in his films, something that even Alfred Hitchcock liked to do. The problem here is that he plays such a large role in this film, and because I knew who he was right away, his appearance took me right out of the story. I was already aware that this project happened to be an intensely personal one to Mr. Shyamalan, as he had formed the idea after he had glanced out a window at the pool in his backyard, then developed the idea into a bedtime story for his kids. But... (Note: Anyone not already aware of what Shyamalan looks like may want to skip down to the next paragraph to avoid spoiling the film.)...in the film, Shymalyan cast himself as ‘the one’ - the person whom the Narf was sent to awaken a sense of destiny within. I see why he would give himself this role, but it was too much for me. Too contrived. There would be a quiet scene between Shyamalan and the Narf, and all I could think of was how he must have told her the way he wanted her to deliver that line just before they started the shot. When he was listening to her, it seemed like he was critiquing her performance (which is something every good director should do). But it wasn’t real. He knew what was coming, his character knew all of the revelations and secrets before they came, and there was no true surprise or devastation in his face. It greatly distanced me from the emotion of the film.
Still, Lady in the Water managed to retain its credibility as a smart and heartfelt work. Mr. Shyamalan has a great understanding of story, and his films are richer for it. Good casting and a talent for creating a wide range of unusual, funny, and very human characters held the story together. The pacing slows at times, and there is also the slight disappointment of a too-abrupt ending, but the quiet tale of a group of people coming together to solve a problem and save a life automatically draws us into the cause and into the film itself. This film was created as a sort of gift to Shyamalan’s children, and will doubtless be a treasure for grandchildren and great-grandchildren to come. There is appreciation to be found in the fact that he decided to share this small and simple story with us as well.
Grading:
Story = A
Originality = A-
DVD Features = N/A
Acting = A-
Enjoyability = B+
Visuals = B+
Overall = B+
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