Lady in the Water made its way to UK cinemas last week amongst much controversy and many bad reviews, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many people would argue that M. Night Shyamalan started losing it with ‘The Village’, as many wannabe critics unfairly bashed it for its see through twist, and audiences are now up in arms once more due to some mismarketing, which is hardly M. Night’s fault. Warner Bros. has a movie to market; they’ll do anything to get bums on seats. The saddest thing is that the film has appeared to suffer as a result.
The story sees janitor Paul Giamatti find a young woman in the apartment complex where he works, only to discover that she is actually a snarf. She has been sent here to help man listen and can only return with the help of some very special people. There are also creatures called scrites lurking in the shadows that are there to prevent her from helping man and from returning home.
What follows is a beautiful tale (which had previously been created for the director’s kids) that is well acted by a wonderful cast, and is a visual delight.
Say what you want about Shyamalan, I still feel that he is a great storyteller who has many moving, thought provoking stories to tell. I sat in the theatre for two hours believing that seemingly normal people hold a purpose and investing in his characters, and I enjoyed myself.
Why are people complaining that it’s only a PG or that it isn’t scary enough or clever enough? It’s a bedtime story for kids and the teenagers at my screening seemed bloody scared when the scrite appeared.
I think that people are being too harsh here by looking for twists that don’t exist. Yes the film was quite easy to second guess but I’m an educated adult, not a child.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Lady in the Water has sparked much debate amongst critics and audiences alike, but it was plain and simple, an enjoyable story and that’s all I needed to pick me up on a weekday afternoon.
