| Overall Grade: |
B |
|
| Story: |
C+ |
|
|
| Acting: |
B |
|
|
| Direction: |
B |
|
|
| Visuals: |
B+ |
|
|
Shyamalan is definitely original.....
by Box Rox (movies profile)
Jan 24, 2007
58
of
82 people found this review helpful
M. Night Shyamalan's newest movie, "Lady in the Water" shows that the talent laden youngster in hollywood is willing to take a chance on a bedtime story. This is a movie that brings out the best in fantasy concepts, a far-fetched tale, the likes that many of us grew up with, told in very real terms, where the frailty of the human condition is made apparent. I have read different reviews that hammer Shyamalan for not making it real enough or not making it fantasy enough. Truth is, he rides a balance between the two that very, very few directors can ever create. It is a fantasy story in which you can feel some genuine empathy for the characters involved. It acts as a good break from the heat outside to go and watch a make-believe story in which the people have lives and act the same as any other regular person.
Paul Giammati is an actor that has achieved the status of star in hollywood, where his name is enough to bring people to the theatre. What Giammati does with the role of Cleveland Heep, the caretaker for the apartment complex where the entire story is centered, is nothing short of magical. He takes a part that could have been made weak and allows you to really feel for a person that has suffered loss and has difficulty coping. Bryce Dallas Howard, a budding star if given the chance, is a mythical seacreature called a Narf and the focal point of the story, is given very little to say in the movie, but provides a believable sea person...as far as what our minds say a sea person would be like. The supporting cast seemed a little weak, but filled the roles that they need to be without upstaging the story. The supporting roles are written in very realistic terms, where people have good and bad lives, but lives that are the same as what we live. Shyamalan writes a role for himself much larger than he has in his previous movies and displays an ability to be not just a writer and director, but an actor with skills that could be further developed. It would be best, though, if he would act in someone else's movies so it doesn't appear that he writes movies just to put his own face on the screen.
The visuals of the movie give you the feel that it is being recorded behind the eyes of an amature video camera operator. Where this would normally be considered a weakness in most films, it actually acts as a strength. Many times you find yourself thinking "Move the shot, I want to see, move the shot!", but it only acts as a tool to keep you focused on what is happening and keeps your appetite wet for what is to come. The CGI characters bring on a life of their own, causing some fear and anticipation for the viewer. A unique filming style to go along with a unique movie.
Shyamalan displays a certain creative wit with the dialogue in the movie, subtle traces of humor that he allows in this movie that cannot be used in his more serious endevours. There are many lines in the film that cause grins, smiles and a few laughs as Shyamalan tries to keep things both real, serious, and then not so serious. A difficult line to walk, but one the Shyamalan seems to have navigated. All told, this is a movie that acts seriously, as many of our bedtime fantasy stories always have, but you don't lose sight of the fact it is just a story. |
My Public Profile 
