Seems like we're getting back on an even keel with the rating viewings now. Quite liking the new pag...
Seems like we're getting back on an even keel with the rating viewings now. Quite liking the new pages in a way. Thanks for all your rates.
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A film only review, as I caught this on TV last night.
I saw it advertised, and was surprised as I thought I had managed to catch all of quirky director M Night Shyamalan's films. Intrigued as to how I had missed it, I settled in to watch it. I wasn't sure what to expect, as the success of his films is quite diverse, ranging from the disappointing The Village up to the excellent The Sixth Sense.
I would place Lady In The Water somewhere in the middle. If anything, it edges closer to The Village, but only because Bryce Dallas Howard is once again a powerful character in the film. She plays Story, the Lady of the title, while the water in the title is that of an appartment block swimming pool. Paul Giamatti plays Cleveland, the super of the building who is saved by Story one night after he bumps his head on the side of the pool. As Story tells a recovering Cleveland that she is from another world, trapped from returning by evil creatures who hide in the grass, the familiar supernatural/horror cross of Shyamalan films starts to creep in. Cleveland starts rounding up some of the inhabitants as they attempt to follow the plot of a fairy tale, rumoured to be the only way she can return.
What this film does is once again mix reality with fantasy, and it's what Shyamalan can make absolutely compelling. Indeed, the first half of this film is very good, and hurtles along, flicking between fantasy and the quirky characters in the appartments. However, it starts wading through quicksand after a while, and the story just grinds to a halt. You almost get the feeling that the pinnacle of the story comes and goes as the story evolves, and that by the end it's just a complete anticlimax.
Some have said it's his least effective work so far, and I can see why when you look at the plot and its execution. However, there were some things that I was immensely impressed with. To start with, the acting of the two leads is very strong. Giamatti and Howard combine effectively, and although some might say that they are, at times, a bit surreal and dramatic, we must not forget the director's style, and in this respect, they do excellently. The rest of the cast are quite good on the whole as well, and Shyamalan even plays a supporting role himself, rather well, I might add.
Similarly, I found the special effects rather impressive, not so much what you do see, but what you can't quite see, as the fantasy creatures are lurking in the mist and just out of camera shot, or as a reflection, and these snippets are intense, giving us build up in the hope of seeing it in full and clearly.
Overall, it's a decent film, but tails off so much towards the end with the plot that it is a great anticlimactic finish to what started out with such promise. I have to say, this is no great surprise from Shyamalan, as the same thing happened with The Village, even though this had a huge twist at the end. Lady In The Water does have a couple of surprises up its sleeve, but nothing major that would shock as in some of his other films.
The DVD is currently available to buy from amazon.co.uk for a reasonably low price at the moment, but it's not the sort of film I would bother getting on DVD. It passes the time and has flashes of brilliance, but the disappointing later parts of the film kind of spoil it in a way.
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
From writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, Signs, Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense) ... more
comes Lady in the Water.Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) has been quietly trying to disappear among the burned-out light bulbs and broken appliances of the Cove ap...
Advantages: The production of this film is beautifully done, with real attention to detail. Disadvantages: There is nothing i could say negatively about this film.
poppyellis123 09.06.2009 (09.06.2009)
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Review of Lady In The Water (DVD)
Advantages: The production of this film is beautifully done, with real attention to detail. Disadvantages: There is nothing i could say negatively about this film.
poppyellis123 09.06.2009 (09.06.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Lady In The Water (DVD)
![Lady In The Water [DVD] [2006]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78188806.jpg "Lady In The Water [DVD] [2006]")
Jun 10th, 2009
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