Lady in the Water (2006)
Average Rating: 4.2/10
Reviews Counted: 210
Fresh: 50 | Rotten: 160
A far-fetched story with little suspense and unconvincing scenarios, Lady In The Water feels contrived, pretentious, and rather silly.
Average Rating: 3.8/10
Critic Reviews: 42
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 37
A far-fetched story with little suspense and unconvincing scenarios, Lady In The Water feels contrived, pretentious, and rather silly.
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Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 396,182
My Rating
Movie Info
M. Night Shyamalan writes and directs this self-proclaimed, grown-up "bedtime story" about an apartment building superintendent named Cleveland (Paul Giamatti) who discovers a magical sea-nymph named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) who's been transported to this world and is living in the building's own swimming pool. As this bizarre revelation sinks in, Cleveland becomes enraptured by her other-worldly charm. As he shelters her in his apartment, other inhabitants of the building begin falling into
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Cast
-
Paul Giamatti
Cleveland Heep -
Bryce Dallas Howard
Story -
Jeffrey Wright
Mr. Dury -
Bob Balaban
Harry Farber -
Sarita Choudhury
Anna Ran -
Cindy Cheung
Young-Soon Choi -
M. Night Shyamalan
Vick Ran -
Freddy Rodriguez
Reggie -
Bill Irwin
Mr. Leeds -
Mary Beth Hurt
Mrs. Bell -
Noah Gray-Cabey
Joey Dury -
Joseph D. Reitman
Long Haired Smoker -
Jared Harris
Goatee Smoker -
Grant Monohon
Emaciated Smoker -
John Boyd
One-Eyebrow Smoker -
Ethan Cohn
Glasses Smoker -
June Kyoko Lu
Mrs. Choi -
Tovah Feldshuh
Mrs. Bubchik -
Tom Mardirosian
Mr. Bubchik -
Maricruz Hernandez
Perez de la Torre Siste... -
Carla Jimenez
Perez de la Torre Siste... -
Natasha Perez
Perez de la Torre Siste... -
Monique Curnen
Perez de la Torre Siste... -
Marilyn Torres
Perez de la Torre Siste... -
George Bass
Mr. Perez de la Torre -
Joel Garland
Pool Guy -
James "Jimbo" Breen
SPCA Guy -
Nell Johnson
Phone Message -
Walter Lafty
Silvertide Band Member -
Mark Melchiorre Jr.
Silvertide Band Member -
Kevin Frank
Silvertide Band Member -
Brian Weaver
Silvertide Band Member -
Nick Perri
Silvertide Band Member -
Jeremy Howard
Tartutic #1 -
Brian Steele
Tartutic #2 -
Kurt Carley
Tartutic #3 -
Doug Jones
Tartutic #4
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Lady in the Water Trailer & Photos
All Critics (220) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (167) | DVD (29)
What was [Shyamalan] thinking? This isn't just duff, it's career-threatening catastrophic.
despite the childlike nature of the story, Lady in the Water will prove too confusing for most kids, which is a shame, since they're also the ones most like to greet that giant-eagle business with something other than a derisive laugh.
The story is so convoluted and ultimately preposterous that you're almost embarrassed by the earnestness of the actors trying to carry it off.
In the end, Shyamalan's stumbling Lady never gives us a reason to believe.
Crazy as this might sound, it turns out that self-indulgent ramblings designed to put your children to sleep are pretty much the opposite of art.
An act of spectacular (if unwitting) self-immolation.
Once again Shyamalan is a maddening storyteller, by turns inspired and insipid, and he still manages to conjure some odd, unnerving moments.
Peevishly defensive, intransigently personal and serenely indifferent to critical (and audience) reaction
While the film's performances are intriguing and the direction tight, Shyamalan's fairytale ends up being more interesting than the actual film.
More soggy than scary. Still, not for youngsters.
... to put it bluntly, badly paced and completely trivial, not to mention utterly juvenile.
This could have made a decent movie but the mythology comes so thick and fast that it mixes to a slurry as you watch.
What is most annoying about "Lady" is that no one ever considers the possibility that nothing magical is actually occurring.The film starts out silly and just gets sillier.
While I love where Night's head and heart are at, I think he tried to communicate them in a way that was clumsy, cumbersome, lacking in suspense and menace, and frankly, unexciting.
an earnest attempt to put the best possible gloss on a mediocre product.
Ignore the critics on this movie. Yeah, I am one. Which means I'm telling you to ignore me, too.
The disc's extras are less impressive than they first appear.
Audience Reviews for Lady in the Water
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Latest News on Lady in the Water
February 5, 2008:
Trailer Bulletin: The HappeningM. Night Shyamalan's The Happening won't reach theaters until June 13, but 20th Century Fox has...
March 30, 2007:
Mark Wahlberg to Star in Shyamalan's "Happening"Retired rapper and underwear model Mark Wahlberg's cinematic hot streak looks set to continue at...
February 27, 2007:
2006 Razzie Awards Announced; "Basic Instinct 2" Leads the PackWith the arrival of the Oscars comes the stench of the raspberries. The Razzie Awards, of course,...
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Foreign Titles
- La Jeune Fille De L'eau (FR)










Top Critic
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.