"I see dead people." -- The Sixth Sense
"It's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others." -- Unbreakable
"Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles?" -- Signs
"We'll be safe, we have the magic rocks." The Village
Director M Night Shyamalan reveres everything arcane. Be it a phenomenon, a theory or a thought. There are two ways of dealing with this. You can either condone his obsession with the unexplained as the overactive imagination of a filmmaker who got lucky. Or, you can join him in this endless pursuit, out of pure appreciation for his guts.
I took the latter approach while watching his latest, Lady in the Water.
The basic premise of the plot -- originally a bedtime story written for his children and published as a picture book coinciding with the film's release -- is that magic exists. And, it does with a purpose.
Part of this enchantment begins with a voice-over, enlightening us about the collaboration between man and creatures of the water during the early days. Together they maintained a harmonious balance for all life forms. But soon, man got caught up in violent activities like war and forgot to hear the voice of these pure inhabitants of the Blue World.
Now again, a representative of the Blue World, the narf or sea nymph named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) tries to make a connection with Man. Her objective is to find a vessel and evoke a sense of awakening, which will inspire generations to come.
A handyman in an apartment complex, Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti), discovers her in the local swimming pool. Heep is a melancholic loner with a tragic past. Though helpful and agreeable, he doesn't quite consider his existence meaningful. Story's entry, in due course, gives him a purpose to help her get hold of a vessel: A writer.
One of the palpable flaws in the movie is the ease with which Heep buys Story's, well, story. She doesn't have fins. She doesn't look even like a sea nymph. For all you know, she could be a high school psycho with a penchant for Hans Christian Anderson's tales.
Evidently, Heep is bored stiff enough to let go of a possible adventure. He helps her find the vessel, who turns out to be commonplace author Vick Ran (Shyamalan). She tells Vick that his novel, The Cookbook, will inspire great leaders of men. And no, she doesn't mention a Pulitzer.
Meanwhile, danger lurks. The rebellious Scrunt, a green, grass coated werewolf kind of beast, will do everything to stop Story from returning to Blue World. Heep, quite miraculously, has done enough research on narfs and scrunts and knows what the solution is.
To divulge anymore would be unfair to the *story* -- pun unintended.
Lady in the Water is layered with profound symbolism. Every supporting character embodies a crucial character, be it as the guardian, interpreter, healer, guild or critic. The exercise of forming this team of players involves a lot of trial and error but, although tedious, it is interesting.
It is imperative that you watch every scene closely. Even the most casually mentioned characters and statements justify their presence in the end.
There are times, however, when Shyamalan gets too absorbed in the philosophy of his fantasy to get to the finer points. He never really dwells on the history of the Scrunt or Tartutic creepy supernatural elements of his yarn. The explanation given is brief and unsatisfactory. The outcome is they wind up looking like Freddy Kruger in a fairytale.
Shyamalan compensates for his selection of clumsy actors in supporting roles, including himself (stick to cameos, sir, you don't have the screen presence to carry on), by casting a fantastic Paul Giamatti as Heep. The Oscar-nominated actor (Cinderella Man) is incredibly persuasive. The lady herself, Bryce Dallas Howard, is a letdown. She looks far too eerie in her pale makeup and icy countenance to convey the sincere concern of an aquatic angel.
Cinematographer Christopher Doyle and composer James Newton Howard breathe in sync with the tryst and terror of Shyamalan's narrative, shifting effortlessly from fierce to surreal.
Even if leisurely told and mostly unconvincing, Lady in the Water is worth viewing for Shyamalan's brand of intrigue and ideology.
Rediff rating:
