Synopsis

Cleveland Heep is the depressed caretaker of an apartment complex in suburban Philadelphia called 'The Cove". He tends the homes of a host of loveable eccentrics, including Mr Dury a single dad; Anna Ran; her brother Vick; Mr Farber a cynical film critic; Young Soon, a college girl Cleveland befriends, and a reclusive man called Mr Leeds. 'The Cove' has a strict rule that there is no swimming in the pool after seven o'clock each evening, but someone is breaking the rules. Investigating the sound of splashing, Heep sees a woman in the pool. When she fails to surface he attempts a rescue. Exhausted he drags himself from the pool, slips, hits his head and falls in. A mysterious young woman whose true identity is a Narf, rescues him. She comes from the Blue World and her name is Story. She'll eventually help Cleveland and many of the residents find what their true purpose in life is.

What The Critics Say

"The marketing campaign is superb for this movie: it shows the beauty and the mystery of the story without the actually incredibly complex structure of it...full of magic and beauty." Karina Montgomery CINERINA "Its strange, entrancing, mystical and sometimes frightening events occur in everyday surroundings and elevate the lives of deserving, everyday people." Jack Garner ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE "A bedtime story that succeeds in putting its audience into dreamland well before the tale is finished." Harvey S Karten COMPUSERVE "This really is a children’s bedtime story, or a fantasy game. It is highly far-fetched, the characters are all slightly odd, like the body-builder who only works on one half of his body. Like Bob Balaban’s film critic who basically reviews the film he’s in to camera; like the screechy Korean neighbour whose mother holds the answer to a lot of questions. But his aims are aspirational, he’s saying the world’s a horrible place at the moment and this is my fantasy about how we can come together to fix it. 3 1/2 STARS." Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES "It's a bit like "E.T." meets "Splash", but with the kind of self-consciously redemptive message that Shyamalan specialises in. And the form of the tale-telling is completely unsettling - often broadly comical, veering suddenly into absolutely terrifying, then back to a New Age "spiritual healing" tent show. Even odder, it actually works, sort of. He's such a committed filmmaker that you have to believe, or risk not being saved. Praise Gaia and pass the towels. 3 STARS" Paul Byrnes SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

"Paul Giamatti is superb ... and his performance single-handedly rescues Lady in the Water from one star ignominy. Frankly, you'll marvel at his ability to keep a straight face as he delivers Shyamalan's pretentious dialogue." Matthew Turner VIEWLONDON "If the ultimate goal is entertainment, then Lady in the Water enthusiastically rises to the task." Desson Thomson WASHINGTON POST "It is a lovely, sincere movie with a nice message about believing in both otherworldly magic and the more mundane power of a community." Mary F Pols CONTRA COSTA TIMES "Lady would be nothing without the man that rides to her rescue, Paul Giamatti." Sean O'Connell CHARLOTTE WEEKLY "This movie is not as bad as it's being made out to be. But it isn't really good either." David Poland HOT BUTTON Mysterious and sweet. It's scary and it's funny, and it's deeply moving, too. That makes Water a rare exception in terms of cinematic hybrids, but it also represents Shyamalan's best effort since 2000's Unbreakable." Jon Popick PLANET SICK-BOY

The Inside Story I have to admit to being a big fan of M Night Shyamalan (that's SHAH-ma-lawn in case your having trouble with the pronounciation). Not for his acting ability but in the main for his wonderful story telling ability. But I also have to admit that having seen his latest effort, "Lady In The Water" I am a little miffed by the overall presentation of the film. Look, there are some wonderful points to be made about this story of a water nymph from the 'Blue World' who comes into the life of a lonely, stuttering caretaker at a block of apartments called 'The Cove'. The special effects are excellent. Bob Balaban, Cindy Cheung, Bryce Dallas Howard and the inimitable Paul Giamatti (for whom M Night Shyamalan specifically wrote the part) are a delight to watch. I could even suffer M Night Shyamalan as Vick. And yes, I got the message Shyamalan was trying to send to the audience. But, and yes sometimes there is a but, I somehow I felt a little hollow as I left the theatre. It's not his best work. Far from it. Something was missing. That something is 'credibility'. You can only suspend believe for so long and unfortunately, M Night Shyamalan asks too much. View London film critic Matthew Turner offered this appraisal of star Paul Giamatti performance noting, "Frankly, you'll marvel at his ability to keep a straight face as he delivers Shyamalan's pretentious dialogue." No one would play down the terrific performance Giamatti gives as Cleveland Heep. "Praise Gaia (Giamatti) and pass the towels," says Sydney Morning Herald critic Paul Byrnes. It's hard to believe that Shyamalan, with box office and DVD sales amounting to $US2 billion, would attempt to foist this crock on audiences. "My movies are an expression of who I am and where I am emotionally," Shyamalan says. "Each film has its questions that I’m wrestling with at that time. I believe in being honest with the audience, so I try to talk honestly about the things I’m dealing with in the context of a fictional story that everyone can enjoy." He openly admits that this latest story developed from a bedtime story he invented for his two daughters. "The way I tell stories to my kids is very freeform, whatever pops into my head and comes out of my mouth," he says of the nightly ritual. While telling stories to children who are wide eyed with amazement is commendable, it's an entirely different story if you're trying to induce an adult audience into a child-like state so that they swallow something that really has no appeal to them. That is where M Night Shyamalan falls flat on his face. "Do you know that someone lives under our pool?" Thats the question which M Night Shyamalan asked his daughters. "It developed into this kind of odyssey," he recalls. "There was something at the heart of this story that made me want to tell it every night, and to keep it going. After the story finally ended, my daughters and I kept talking about it and what happened to the characters. It resonated with us in an unusual fashion." What would happen to the bedtime story? It would become his next movie. "Night is not afraid of anything in his work, and I think that’s why people are so drawn to his films," says Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Academy Award winning director Ron Howard. "Audiences know that they’re going to see something that is inherently fearless." Shyamalan says he "had to absolutely one hundred percent believe in this story for it to come to life as a film. My hope is, if I tell you the honest truth, that I do believe in these kinds of possibilities, that you’ll be open to receiving that message." Many will be surprised to know that the idea for "Lady In The Water" came to him at the same time as "The Village" did. At that time he said, "I was in a darker place, and The Village is an expression of the questions I was grappling with. How far would I go to protect my family? Would I run away from society? Would I make questionable choices?" The message of hope, faith and inspiriation within the "Lady In The Water" would have to wait for another time. The lady's time has finally come. So what does M Night Shyamalan hope audiences will garner from this, his seventh film? "When people come out of this movie, I hope they feel a sense of hope for themselves and for others; hope that everybody finds their purpose and we’ll all be able to do what we’re supposed to do on this planet." What They Had To Say "I was blown away by his humor, his humanity and his ability to be leading man. I felt for him in a way that very few actors make me feel," Shyamalan says.
"“Paul Giamatti is such an intelligent man and such a good actor. I’ve never seen someone so technically proficient," marvels Bryce Dallas Howard. "Paul isn’t one of those actors who needs to go off into a corner and get into a certain state. He’s very focused and he can go anywhere. At one point in the film, my character reads Cleveland’s journal. Paul wrote some entries in the actual journal we filmed with, which I read. They were incredibly helpful. He had tapped into complete and utter darkness."
"Paul Giamatti is my Richard Dreyfuss," says Shyamalan. "He can make you laugh and yet feel the depths of his character’s confusion, and then emerge with a hopefulness for mankind."
"Bryce is really talented and she works her ass off," Giamatti says. "I hope someday to be as good a film actor as she is, because she’s amazingly assured, which hopefully will rub off on me in some way."
"There is an innocence and a kinship with the heavenly that lives in children," notes Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Jeffrey Wright ("Angels In America"). "As we grow older, we need to rediscover and constantly remind ourselves of it as part of our quest to find our best humanity."
"Farber is a curmudgeon," says prolific actor and director Bob Balaban. "He’s unfriendly and very private. He doesn’t want anyone to knock on his door. And he would never invite anyone into his apartment."
"Young-Soon is out to conquer the world," Cheung says. "She’s bold and unafraid to experiment with her look all the time. Right now, she’s inspired to dress like Britney Spears, but her muse could change to Alicia Keys next week."
"Reggie’s a guy who’s experimenting on himself," says Freddy Rodriguez ("Six Feet Under"). "He’s kind of a loner. He’s friendly, but the other tenants don’t really take him seriously."
"Like Cleveland, Mr Leeds has suffered some terrible loss, but his reaction is to watch television, encase himself in books and never leave his place. I think he’s a little jealous of Cleveland, because even though Cleveland is wounded, even though he stutters and keeps his eyes down, Cleveland is out in the world," says 2005 Tony Award Bill Irwin. "Mr Leeds recognizes the bravery in that." The Verdict "Dedicated fans of M Night Shyamalan will find themselves divided over his latest storytelling flick, "Lady In The Water". There's no doubting M Night Shyamalan's talent but many will be asking themselves, 'has he gone too far this time?' He probably has and that will cost him dearly on two levels. It will erode his fan base and worst of all hit him where it really hurts, at the box-office. The support cast do a very servicable job and as expected Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard both deliver the 'goods'. The special effects including the 'creatures' are superb, but it is just five minutes of storytelling that brings "Lady In The Water" down. Rather than taking on a major role in his films, M Night Shyamalan needs to stick to making little cameo appearances as he has previously done. If you're a big Shyamalan fan you need to see this one. Other cinemagoers should exercise their option of seeing something else at their local multiplex. Softly, softly does it. 2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "LADY IN THE WATER" stars .......
Independent Spirit Award winner Paul Giamatti ["Confidence", "American Splendor", "Paycheck", "Sideways" and "Cinderella Man"]; BAFTA Award winner Bob Balaban ["Best in Show", "Gosford Park", "The Mexican" and "A Mighty Wind"]; Cindy Cheung ["Speed for Thespians", "Robot Stories" and "Red Doors"]; Jeffrey Wright ["Shaft", "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Broken Flowers"]; Freddy Rodríguez ["Havoc", "Harsh Times" and "Poseidon"] and Bryce Dallas Howard ["How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Book of Love", "Manderlay" and "The Village"] as Story.
"LADY IN THE WATER" was .......
directed by M Night Shyamalan ["The Sixth Sense", "Unbreakable", "Signs" and "The Village"]; screenplay by M Night Shyamalan ["Praying with Anger", "Wide Awake", "Signs" and "The Village"]; production design by Martin Childs M.B.E. ["Mrs Brown", "Quills", "From Hell" and "Calendar Girls"]; original music by James Newton Howard ["The Sixth Sense", "Vertical Limit", "The Village", "Collateral", "Signs" and "King Kong"]; director of photography Osella d'Oro Award and Cannes Grand Technical Prize winner Christopher Doyle ["Rabbit-Proof Fence", "The Quiet American" and "The White Countess"] costume design by Betsy Heimann ["Pulp Fiction", "Almost Famous", "Vanilla Sky" and "Be Cool"] produced by M Night Shyamalan ["Praying with Anger", "Unbreakable", "Signs" and "The Village"] and Sam Mercer ["Congo", "The Sixth Sense", "Van Helsing" and "The Village"]. Run Time 110 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - Warner Bros Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved