M. Nightly Retrospective: 'Lady in the Water'
A bedtime story I love even if everyone else hates it
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Photo: Warner Home Video
- BOX OFFICE: $42,285,169 domestically, $72,785,169 worldwide and #1,206 all-time
- PRODUCTION BUDGET: $70 million
- M. Night Shyamalan has a part in Lady in the Water as a writer
If the ultimate goal is entertainment, then Lady in the Water enthusiastically rises to the task. In a movie laden with enough symbolism, shamanism and mythic lore to make Joseph Campbell dance a tribal jig, Shyamalan never forgets to have fun. ~ Desson Thompson, "Washington Post"
ONE BAD:
It comes off as tedious, pretentious, self-indulgent, talky and so garbled it might have been improvised by the actors. ~ William Arnold, "Seattle Post-Intelligencer"
The scene in which Paul Giamatti as apartment manager Cleveland Heep lays down as if he is a ten-year-old boy anxious to hear more of the story is how I watched this entire film, and when it comes time for Giamatti's emotional scene toward the end of the film I was sold.
I don't think there is much middle ground when it comes to this film. Either you love it or you hate it, the line seems to be clearly drawn.
Click on "Next Page" to check out seventeen more screen grabs from Lady in the Water.
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I actually really liked "Lady in the Water" too, but somehow I've never gotten around to buying it. I really liked the ending too – it wasn't really a twist, but it was a nice pay-off. Something about "Lady in the Water" just made it way good. I don't know why the critics, or audiences for that matter, decided to hate on it so much.
Maybe it was the "Bedtime Story" marketing. I honestly think that probably hurt it.
I loved it as well. The disagree with the above poster though, I think the bedtime story marketing was perfect, because thats EXACTLY what it was. I think people saw M. Nights name on and, expected something else, or as the old argument goes, they were expecting a twist, and that it would all of a sudden end up being a horror film. It is exactly what it was said to be. The problem is with peoples preconceived notions of what a M. Night movie is "supposed" to be.
I absolutely hate this movie, it totally bored me.
At the time I did have trouble with it because I as well expected certain things because of his previous films. But thats my own mistake.
I was, however, quickly able to push those aside and judge the film on its own merrits and decided I love it.
It really is a bed-time story, a fairy-tale but for adults.
It did come across as magical as other fairy-tales used to do when I was little.
Forget what he did before and see what a wonderous story he tells.
It's just different, a bit like Big Fish is different.