A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Lady in the Water

Date Viewed: 8/12/06

Details:

Paul Giamatti

Bryce Dallas Howard)

Jeffrey Wright

Mary Beth Hurt

M. Night Shyamalan

Cindy Cheung

Ethan Cohn

Written & directed & produced by: M. Night Shyamalan

Score: +

The Review: The most explicitly mythos-based of Shyamalan's films -- and if you are well-read in the urban fantasy tradition, then as the prelude narration unfolds, you should have a feel for what to expect. About the only thing Lady does not deliver is the by-now-trademark Shyamalan twist. But that's a good thing in this case, and at this time -- a change in plot movement, a refreshing difference in structure, are all to the good for his career and (especially) for his audience. It makes this one of Shyamalan's gentler films, and one I think likely to survive re-watching more easily than the O'Henry-like shocker (The Sixth Sense).

And urban fantasy it surely is (in the spirit of Charles de Lint and Emma Bull). Amidst the hustle and bustle of our contemporary life, there is a secret back-story of good and evil that plays out against human culture, but almost completely concealed from our eyes. Apparently some of this alternate parallel history has crossed over into the myths of a few human cultures, as the superintendent of an apartment building (Giamatti) discovers when he is confronted by some terrifying and wonderful happenings. He is visited by Story (Howard), a lady in the water, and Giamatti enlists his various tenants not only to help figure out what's going on, but also to help Story (and our world) regain some balance. But there are forces both malevolent and neutral (the odd Tartuic, for example) that must be dealt with first.

Along the way, there are some amusing film-references and some extremely peculiar characters, and the puzzle is to recognize who is whom and how to fit all the pieces together. Recommended.

(26-Aug-06)

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