Regarding Lady in the Water

Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) is a very nice, quiet man with a stammer. He's the supervisor for an apartment house in Philadelphia, and all the residents really like him. About the only thing that annoys him is a mysterious person swimming in the pool at night, which has happened a lot lately. But then he discovers who the mysterious swimmer is - a beautiful, ethereal young woman named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard). Story is a water nymph - a Narf - from Blue World. All she wants is to complete her mission and leave. But an evil creature the size of a large wolf has pursued her and is bent on killing her no matter what it takes.

Pros: First of all, the whole point of this movie is that everybody has a purpose in life. They may not know what it is they're supposed to do until the moment they need to do it, but there is no such thing as a worthless life. I also love the way God is brought into this movie. Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard both had simply awesome acting performances. And the characters in this movie are great. The various people in the apartment house have very distinct personalities, from the guy who only works out one side of his body to the older lady who tells everybody everything there is to know about her husband.

Cons: Unfortunately, this movie is not as subtle as the other M. Night Shyamalan movies I've seen. There's no need to look for a "deeper meaning" - things are stated clearly and concisely. Though, considering I would never have picked up on a couple things without having them specifically mentioned, I don't have too much of a problem with that. My other problem is that sometimes "the universe" is referred to as being responsible for some things - namely, for directly helping the protagonists. However, things are explained at a later part of the movie as being from God (though that isn't necessarily presented as being the definitive answer; it's just the opinion of a couple characters).

Note: Written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

My Rating: T (frightening images/situations, Story doesn't have much clothing on most of the time)

Picture from impawards.com