Lady in the Water (2006)

A Thoughtful and uncompromising work of art and unique fairytale from M. Night Shyamalan who is also criminally underrated as a director. Shyamalan brings his own bedtime story to life in way that is touching, exciting and full of awe at the same time.
I truly admire his work as a director and i think that he is one of the greatest American directors working today. He has always been a poet, a true auteur and in a complete control of his own art. In a times when so many other filmmakers are running out of ideas or recycling the same old stuff, he has continued to tell his own unique stories. He has worked as a director/writer/producer in nearly all of his films and he is an artist that clearly knows where he is heading to and what he wants from his films. He is not one of those greedy directors who run only after their paychecks. Shyamalan proves that films are art that can create whole new worlds and he has ability pull us in them.
In Shyamalan's films the possibilities are limitless. He uses his films as a plyground for his own imagination and visual experiments. For example many of his films, like Lady in the Water, has their own colour code and carefully constructed rhytm. He has always paid attention to even the tiniest of detail in his work. Photography, production design, music, the eerie mood and all the technical feats are always top notch in his films. He is also one of those rare directors working in Hollywood who does not rely in fast-paced editing or pointless camera trickery. His style is much more relaxed and old-school. Every film from Shyamalan has that same magical touch in common. He is a born filmmaker.
Lady in the Water is a film that has many of his trademarks like the poetic use of slow-motion and wonderful colour palette, his earlier film The Village played with especially with yellows and reds, with enchanting use of colour blue.
The truth is that while Shyamalan is a wonderful writer himself, he is also a great painter with his camera. With a support from the great lenser Christopher Doyle, he has made visually glorious fantasy film that not only stands apart from the typical genre cliches, but works as a daring journey into his own psyche and storytelling abilities. Lady in the Water is a brave film in every possible way. It is a complex and puzzling story inside the story. There has certainly never been a film like it before. This film has such an unique setting and a enchanting way to pull us in the story.
Certainly you can tell that this is a highly personal film for it's director. This film's troubled production history and Shyamalan's will to not give up, tell something about this story's transition into the big screens. I am more than happy to see that Shyamalan's efforts were worth of it all.
With great support from it's talented cast, Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeffrey Wright, Bob Balaban and Sarita Choudhury, to the career best score from James Newton Howard, this is a magical film from one of the true auteur geniunes in the world. If you like fairytales and have open mind for them, then you must give it a chance. Actually if you love films at all and especially the ones that are willing to push the boundaries of cinema then this is most definetly your cup of tea. It might not be a masterpiece and it certainly is uneven work, but it is also something we are not used to see that often anymore.