No Life Preserver Needed, But…

In Lady in the Water, Paul Giamatti plays Cleveland Heep, the modest building manager of The Cove, a place filled with interesting tenants.

One night, he rescues a mysterious young woman named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) from danger. But Story isn’t any young woman; she is actually a narf, a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the treacherous journey from our world back to hers.

Soon, Cleveland and the people of The Cove begin to realize they are also integral characters in this story. As he is more and more drawn to her, Cleveland sets out to protect his fragile new friend from the deadly creatures that reside in this fable and are determined to prevent her from returning home.

Expectations for M. Night Shyamalan’s latest couldn’t have been lower, which is surprising because this is the same man who gave us The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village (in which Howard starred, by the way). This interesting Entertainment Weekly article should help you somewhat understand why.

Here’s the thing, though: Lady in the Water is a departure for Shyamalan. The movie is inventive, all right, but it lacks whimsy – and it’s supposed to be a bedtime story!

The mythology, though quite simple after further analysis, feels a tad too complicated at times, and the storytelling is far too self-important and serious. This renders the movie watching experience a bit awkward, especially when you have a roomful of people laughing when they probably aren’t meant to.

Not bad by any means (it helps that there isn’t a Big Twist, but rather several little ones throughout), Lady in the Water just needed to be lighter to really grasp my interest, which isn’t to say it won’t grasp yours.

My Rating **

Photo: Warner Bros.