The volatility of M. Night Shyamalan‘s career is unprecedented. An artist defined by his high peaks and low valleys, Shyamalan was once celebrated as the next Steven Spielberg, only to become synonymous with hilariously bad movies designed to be mocked by the Internet just a handful of years later. Part of the Shyamalan experience is embracing the versions of him as the cinematic wunderkind of The Sixth Sense and the disaster artist behind The Happening. No film represents the dichotomy of Shyamalan as cleanly as Lady in the Water, his 2006 mystery fairy tale that marked his downfall into being a punchline.
Despite its poor reputation, Shyamalan sticks up for this personal film inspired by a bedtime story he told his daughters. Even with all his success early in his career, Lady in the Water remains the twisty writer-director’s personal favorite of his filmography. Upon its necessary re-watch, you won’t think he’s so crazy, as there is a strange magic to this story of wonder, family, and finding belief in the unnatural.
‘Lady in the Water’ is M. Night Shyamalan’s Take on a Fairy Tale
For Shyamalan’s reputation among critics and audiences, the tide began to turn with The Village, his 2004 mystery-thriller about a secluded Puritan community in Pennsylvania with a third-act twist that failed to spook anyone, and instead, only caused eye rolls. For his follow-up mystery saga, Shyamalan, whose filmography almost entirely consists of original material, adapted a story that didn’t exist in print, but rather, an oral story recounted to his young daughters, who are artists in their own right today.
The perceived vanity of basing your film on a bedtime story had already caused Lady in the Water to have a target on its back, and critics did not hold back in their critical panning of the film in 2006. However, Shyamalan only has fond memories of the film. “The ones I have most affinity for are the ones that have maintained that quirky nature,” he told GQ in 2021, concerning his favorite films, which include Unbreakable, The Visit, and Lady in the Water.
The film, about a Philadelphia apartment complex superintendent, Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti), discovering a young woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) in the swimming pool, is a modern-day fairy tale about a literal bedtime story. Shyamalan has no reservations about lacking subtlety, as the mysterious young woman, revealed to be a water nymph belonging to a fantastical world, is named Story. Despite its obvious thematic aspirations, much of the vitriolic criticism stemmed from the film’s confounding world-building and plot holes, along with the stilted performances and dialogue, criticisms still thrown at his recent films, including Old and Trap.
The Personal Themes of Family and Companionship in ‘Lady in the Water’
There’s no getting around the gaping flaws of Lady in the Water, particularly concerning Shyamalan casting himself in an outsized role and the needlessly malicious critic character played by Bob Balaban. However, because of Shyamalan’s sheer panache behind the page and camera, it remains more interesting than 90% of films released in any given year. Visually, the movie, shot by Wong Kar-wai‘s regular DP Christopher Doyle, is a marvel, creating a heightened reality that mirrors the wonder and ominous surrealism of a fairy tale. Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard’s performances were unfairly maligned upon release, as both stars tap into the bizarre Shyamalan register with their unexpected bond. Giamatti’s familiar neurotic, curmudgeonly persona is especially well applied as a cynic who learns to embrace the fantastical beauties of his mundane world.
In an era of wisecracking glibness on the screen, the secret touch of Shyamalan’s work is sincerity. The director’s belief in his audacious concept resonates on the screen, even if everything feels slightly off-kilter. Shyamalan has always been more in on the joke than his critics want to believe, and that shows in the film’s innate provocative nature that drove critics mad in 2006. Shyamalan’s love for his own kids and undying duties as a father, which has fully blossomed in his most recent work, is demonstrated in its purest form by matching the sentiments of a bedtime story with a distinct uneasiness.
Family is a constant throughline in his work, and the companionship between other residents of the complex reinforces Shyamalan’s humanist streak, a trait glossed over due to his cultural standing as the master of twists. Today, the director, who self-finances his own movies, has stripped down his formerly ostentatious cinematic vision by making no-frills B-movies. Lady in the Water serves as an early transition point to his present self, as the film ultimately works best as a sheer mystery/thriller.
Even when thinking about them unironically, Lady in the Water‘s flaws are part of its uncanny charm. The film’s deemed hubris, stemming from his casting and the snooty film critic character, encapsulates an era where M. Night Shyamalan was a widely recognizable celebrity with zealous defenders and naysayers. Its bold narrative decisions evoke an unencumbered bravado on Shyamalan’s part. Even when he pokes a nerve in the viewers’ heads, M. Night Shyamalan endures in the film world, no matter what the critics say contemporaneously.
- Release Date
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July 20, 2006
- Runtime
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110 Minutes
