I can't think of any other way to describe it. It's sort of like attending a puppet show where, occasionally the sweaty puppeteer lifts up the curtain and asks someone to get him another beer. "Lady in the Water" will certainly not be everyone's cup of tea, but it presents something I've never seen before: a genuine fairytale, perhaps as seen through the eyes of an adult, but still unmistakably written for kids. His big scene toward the end of the movie had me absolutely howling. He goes so far as to start predicting how his own role in "Lady in the Water" will play out, comically chipping away at the proverbial 4th wall which separates fictional characters from us, the audience. Oh, I forgot the absolute best character, Bob Balaban who plays a comically arrogant, jaded, cynical film critic who insists that there is no originality left, and all stories are predictable to a fault. These subtle things are not essential to the fairytale, but they add tremendous characterization for those of us who aren't satisfied with a simple fairytale written for kids. Another character, who only has about 2 lines in the movie, is seen glaring at the world with utter contempt & cynicism-perhaps someone who is haunted by the present. Similarly, Shyamalan himself makes a significant appearance as a secondary character who is haunted by an equally disturbing future. Paul Giamatti plays the lovable, dorky maintenance guy at the center of the story, but through his excellent performance in brief moments we see that his is deeply haunted by an unspeakable terror in his past. The characters are very well crafted, full of unspoken depth and some with a profound sorrow that's out of place in fairy tales. My advice to adults would be to focus not on the plot but instead on the characters. And that may disappoint many adults who are expecting something more complicated or challenging. However, the core story remains very sweet and children's-booky. And it has a chick who's basically naked through the entire movie (nothing is shown explicitly, but nudity is implied well enough). There are some oblique references to pot smoking. Sadly, that is no longer the case, and many people are tired of pretending that sex isn't constantly on their minds. It has moments of violence and frightening visuals. Bryce Dallas Howard's Butt is the Center of a Major Debate Online RambleKhron Published in ftw We used to live in a proper country. The movie does have spots of great acidic humor as only adults will understand. So you're sitting there thinking, "Ok then why is it rated PG-13 instead of G? And why does the trailer show a lot of dark, brooding and creepy shots like in Shyamalan's suspense flicks?" Well, I agree that it's a weird way to present a children's story, but I figure it's Shyamalan's way of reaching out to the adults who might end up reading the book to their kids. No, "Lady in the Water" is a simple, sweet children's story with perhaps a salty coating for adults, but inside it's a children's story nonetheless. Therefore, this film is NOT some adult story disguised as a fairytale, not like the darkly humorous "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971) or the bitingly satirical "Edward Scissorhands" (1990) or the very complex & symbolic "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006). As he says on the DVD interviews, this movie is like a "big brother" to the book, introducing it to the world and then allowing the book to flourish on its own in the years to come as, he hopes, a more enduring work of art. "Lady in the Water" (the movie) was intended to accompany the book, not as a cinematic replacement but rather as a way to launch the book. Where YOUR story begins is that you're considering whether to watch this movie. Over time & retelling, he refined it, gave it more depth and got it to the point where he realized that this would make a great children's book like the ones he himself grew up on: "Where the Wild Things Are", "The Giving Tree" and such. Who knows how many such stories were rejected by his toughest critics (his daughters), but this one persisted and became a family favorite. It began as a fairytale set in the family's back yard, weaving creative dimensions around common things like the swimming pool, the sprinklers, the tall grass, etc. Sometime after the births of his 3 daughters, Shyamalan found himself, as all parents do, ad-libbing a bedtime story to entertain his younguns. And that's the key to understanding and enjoying this movie. Elaine later confesses her infidelity to David, and their marriage is destroyed by the affair.It might sound like a joke, that the master of modern macabre, the man who wove such disturbingly morbid tales like "The Sixth Sense", would write a children's book. Over time, the couple becomes friendly with Chet, who develops a crush on Elaine that culminates in a one-night stand. Book of Love is a 2004 American film written and directed by Alan Brown and starring Frances O'Connor, Simon Baker, and Gregory Smith.Ī young woman named Elaine (Frances O'Connor) and her husband, David Walker (Simon Baker) meet a lonely fifteen-year-old, Chet Becker (Gregory Smith), in an ice-cream shop.
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