Lady in the Water

ByJul 21, 2006 7:00 AMTags
This is easy: Whether you love or hate director/brand name M. Night Shyamalan (it's one or the other, people) will determine how you feel about his Lady. This may be his most muddled, least satisfying flick to date, but it still has so much of that M. Night flavor--freaky/frightening images, recursive storytelling, a great actor with a big meaty role, the addictive pace of a thriller--that fans shouldn't resist.
Paul Giamatti's a joy to watch as an apartment-complex handyman with a secret who finds the pale, eerie Bryce Dallas Howard in his pool. She's a nymph, see, from a nearly forgotten fairy tale, and he has to rally his lovable and nutty tenants to save her...by figuring out where they belong in the story. M. Night haters will find plenty to gripe about, especially since the director has a too-big role in the flick (he's a writer destined to change the world--no, really). In the end, there's something exhilarating yet corny about watching all the pieces snap into place, even if you saw the pattern a mile away. It feels like you had to figure out some great mystery, even if M. Night did all the work for you.