Call this a movie review if you like. A few evenings ago, I saw Lady in the Water for what will be the first of a small handful of viewings. Last I checked, Yahoo Movies had an average critic grade of C and a user grade of C+. What follows is my review...

(By the way, this could be considered a spoiler. I don't think it is, but if you're sensitive to those things, beware.)

Cleveland Heep, the protagonist played wonderfully by Paul Giamatti, is trying to piece together the strange events happening around him and soon discovers they mirror an ancient fairy tale told to him by one of the other residents. Naturally, he asks this character to tell him the entire tale, and thus provide him information critical to a happy ending. Before she tells him the fairy tale in all its detail, she makes him prove to her he will receive the story as a child, and results in one of the best scenes of the movie.

I believe now that Shyamalan was speaking to all of us through that moment: that his fairy tales are not meant for the calculating, expectant, or the realists of the world. In this film, he carries on the ancient practice of telling fairy tales, and does so the old fashioned way - by taking the ordinary and unassuming, and creating an outrageous tale that will not allow itself to be perfectly comprehended or understood. What he creates is a world waiting to welcome anyone who believes magic can still happen, and shows us that a secret world can and does exist just below our swimming pool, if we only allow ourselves eyes to see.

This isn't a new idea for Shyamalan. Think back to Signs - the great scene where Joaquin Phoenix and Mel Gibson discuss whether events in life are purely coincidence, or if they carry with them the miracle of intention. Though the film involves an alien attack, that seems more of a subplot, highlighting the real story of Gibson's struggle to believe God is still good. In Lady in the Water, Giamatti takes on a very similar role. Going into the film, he is a man quitting on life for reasons I won't mention here. His journey is a reminder of what Shyamalan does so well in his films (I don't mean scare you to death). He takes real hurts - the ones buried deeper in us than most are willing to dig - and shows there is still hope; there is still room to believe life can be a fantastic journey.

On another level, I loved Lady in the Water because Shyamalan created a fairy tale world from normal life and refused to explain himself or apologize for his actions. I think it's one of those movies (or stories) that will frustrate a person who tries to rationalize the events taking place. After all, this a fiary tale, and if a character is half bodybuilder/half scrawny, that can happen. The point is not why he is that way, but simply that he's that way. Shyamalan's tale doesn't attempt to explain that or the other numerous oddities, just like the Brothers Grimm didn't explain why in Hansel & Gretel the witch lived in a gingerbread house, or why she wanted to cook the children. In a time where we the 'enlightened' feel a need to rationalize all existence, an attempt to break this anti-creative pattern is so refreshing. It makes me this among the purposes and messages of this movie was not in the ending point, nor any other point along the way, but that the movie was it's own point.

Is it a perfect film? Not nearly. There are issues with pacing - much of the movie feels scattered and requires some patience. But like I mentioned earlier, Cleveland Heep wasn't allowed to receive the fairy tale until he presented himself as a child. The movie has a wealth and depth that you can tap into, but you have to believe in the film's worth before it's worth is proven. You have to love it before it becomes lovable. We grow up and grow old, and we become so demanding. All Shyamalan did here was make a bedtime story for his children into a movie designed so that only children could unlock its mysteries.


After thought: Many think Heaven is a place where all our questions will find their answers, and we'll finally understand God. I'm sorry, but I think there's more to our eternity than the fulfilled desire of Adam and his apple. So no, I don't think we'll get our answers, and I don't think we'll ask our questions. I believe Heaven is a place where our wonder and awe are fully restored; where life is magical, and we are swept away by our prince in a fairy tale bigger than our understandings. I think that's what Christ meant when he said we have to become like children to enter his kingdom. **