THE SYNOPSIS In a large Pennsylvanian apartment complex called The Cove dwells ordinary people, leading ordinary lives. Attending to this complex is the superintendent, Cleveland Heep (Giamatti)--a small, quiet man privately mourning the deaths of his wife and children. When not interacting with the tenants, Heep spends his time in his small, tidy shack near a lovely, azure-colored swimming pool that has been, as of late, been trespassed by a midnight swimmer. One night, Heep confronts the interloper--who turns out to be a water nymph named Story (Howard)--a refugee from the Blue World on a mission to seek out the one who would be a storyteller and spread her message to all mankind. After accepting this real-life fairy tale-in-progress, Heep enlists the help of his fellow tenants to aid Story’s return to her world, via a ride from a large bird. But the denizens of this complex must also be wary of a terrible creature called a Scrunt, who aims to kill Story. But who is the storyteller? Is it Heep? Or kindly father Mr. Dury (Wright). I hope it’s not snooty film critic Mr. Farber (Balaban). Perhaps it is one of the brother-sister duo Anna (Choudhury) or Vick (Shyamalan)--here’s a hint: he’s a failed author. It turns out that the storyteller is not the only one Story searches for, as she requires others who have special skills. They all band together behind Heep and Story to battle the Scrunt and send her home. It is time to believe in magic! THE CRITIQUE Though not as scary as The Sixth Sense and definitely not as confusing as Unbreakable, LADY IN THE WATER is not the dog that other critics have proclaimed. The $75,000,000 production was plagued with problems from its inception (based on bedtime stories that Shyamalan would tell his daughters at night). One sign of trouble was when Disney (his distributor from Day One) passed on the project--not to worry, though, since WB took him in. The script, by Shyamalan, is definitely not great--and giving himself a plum part in the movie is a bit self-indulgent. But it has heart and does take the viewer into an ordinary setting where the extraordinary occurs. And we accept it as such. Think about it: the script contains metaphors and symbolism galore. Why the very name of the apartment complex (The Cove) is a perfect example: a small, sheltered place away from the turbulent world. With no marquee star power (ala Signs) and no twist ending like The Village (another Shyamalan movie I liked), LITW is a change-of-pace for the enigmatic filmmaker from PA. Here, as in his other works, Shyamalan at least manages to prove to all why he’s in the picture business. His directing style does not pander to those with ADD. Methodical pacing, good direction to his cast and elegant camerawork get my attention and earn my respect, dammit! Better still is the atmospheric-lensing by veteran Aussie/HK cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Jet Li’s Hero/The Quiet American/1998’s Psycho). Elegant compositions, evocative camerawork and attention to detail make this one quite watchable. I have to also mention the terrific production design by Oscar©-winner Martin Childs (who won for Shakespeare In Love). The filmmakers actually built the apartment complex, pool, Heep’s shack and other sets from scratch and turned it into a believable working set. Kudos! Other tech credits (like editing and such) are solid. The entire show was produced exactly 43 mins. from Shyamalan’s home in Pennsylvania. His contract stipulated that he be no more than 45 minutes away...it’s good to be the King! As aforementioned, while a lack of star power may have hurt this picture’s bottom line--there was certainly no shortage of talent in front of the lens. Wonderful character actor-cum-budding-leading man Paul Giamatti is a wonder (as usual). His quiet, pained Cleveland Heep is a silent-but-strong type who becomes a hero through the course of the story. His character arc is not the only one to transpire of course, as all of the characters in the film change as well. They are personified by terrific actors such as Jeffrey Wright, Bill Irwin, Sarita Choudhury, Mary Beth Hurt and even Shyamalan himself is not too shabby. Bob Balaban’s snooty film critic getting whacked by the creature is an amusing potshot at film critics everywhere (and believe me, even though I’m one of them--I even hate snooty critics and was laughing my ass off during the scene). As the main title character, young Bryce Dallas Howard (naturally daughter of famed actor/director Ron Howard) is fine in the role of the water nymph. Personally, I would’ve cast a sexier actress (like Jessicas Alba or Biel)--but this isn’t a Russ Meyer picture, damn it! But hey I can dream, right? THE BOTTOM LINE An entertaining fairy tale that translates into a decent movie. One thing I have to say about LADY IN THE WATER is that it tries to be different--and that’s where I feel that most others disliked this movie. Oh, and one other thing: if a hot water nymph showed up in my pool, I’d be sure to stick my head in the water and invite her friends too! Then we could make flick called Nymphs Gone Wild! It’ll play forever... CAST: Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeffrey Wright, Bob Balaban, Sarita Choudhury, Cindy Cheung, M. Night Shyamalan, Freddy Rodriguez, Bill Irwin, Mary Beth Hurt, Tovah Feldshuh, June Kyoto Lu, Tom Mardirosian, Noah Gray-Cabey CREDITS: Director/Screenwriter: M. Night Shyamalan; Producers: Sam Mercer & M. Night Shyamalan; Director of Photography: Christopher Doyle; Production Designer: Martin Childs; Editor: Barbara Tulliver; Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann; Creature designer; Crash McCreery; Music: James Newton Howard AC/AL/V 2006 110m ENGLISH