Hi 91 / Lo 74
|
Hi 91 / Lo 74 |
Student Publications
©1991-2007
Last modified:
Contact:
|
Volume 71, Issue 152,
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Life & Arts
You may walk out on 'Lady' Shyamalan's thought invoking film leaves much to be confused by DUSTI RHODES
It’s hard to say whether it’s a good or bad thing to walk out of a movie and wonder if you liked it. And yet that’s exactly the feeling that M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water may leave you with. Shyamalan has a way of addressing important issues with surreal aspects that sometimes border on ridiculous. Lady begins with an "ancient myth" of how humans lost touch with the Earth when they became consumed with, well, consuming. These beings lived in the water and occasionally tried to reach humans by leaving the safety of the water and braving the beasts that haunt them. Enter Paul Giamatti as Cleveland Heep, an apartment complex superintendent who is haunted by a past he chooses to keep quiet. While ensuring that no one is swimming in the complex pool after dark, he discovers Story (Bryce Dallas Howard), the titular character who he now must help to find "the writer" she is looking for so she can catch a flight with the eagle home before she is eaten by the deadly creatures who hunt her in so many words. The writer is none other than director/writer Shyamalan who, along with his sister (Sarita Choudhury), agrees to help Cleveland get Story home. Story informs Shyamalan, whose character is unnamed, that he will write a book that will one day go on to inspire a boy to lead a new social movement and change the world. This couldn’t have been a more perfect role if Shyamalan had written it himself. Oh, wait. All presumptuousness aside, the movie serves to make plenty of good points as the plot thickens and Cleveland enlists the help of even more tenants, including a film critic who helps him decipher what characters will serve the roles that will guide Story home. However, the audience quickly learns it is just as important not to predetermine people’s roles in life as it is to know what your role is. Sound like a horror movie? It really isn’t. Although the movie does have a couple of edge-of-your-seat moments, it is more a who’s who mystery that combines intelligent ponderings with a few cheap laughs actually, more than a few. Lady is really more funny than scary. The meeting of all things funny with all things scary and thoughtful is almost like a dish with too many flavors. It makes one wonder how many aspects of the film were intentional and how many may only be caught by a moviegoer with a background in literary theory. Shyamalan constantly contradicts himself, but these contradictions may also just as easily be proving his points. The story is so confusing that you might be too involved to react to the supernatural aspects of the film, a la The Village. Although, the computer-generated deadly creatures don’t take away from the story, they don’t do much to sell it, either. The movie, however controversial, still possesses diverse appeals that will draw a good range of movie fans and will no doubt leave them, at most, not demanding a refund. If anything, Giamatti’s performance alone is worth the ticket price. The actor continues to awe audiences with his ability to have audience as ready to cry with him as they are to laugh at him. However, Giamatti is not needed to carry the rest of the cast members they seem to fare well on their own. Though the cheese is heavy at times, it’s broken up with humor, and the mystery leaves plenty to string you along. But don’t be surprised if you walk out asking, "Did I like that?"The
Lady in the Water Rated: PG-13 for scary images
Verdict: It’s good, isn’t it?
Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu |
To contact the
To contact other members
of
 |