Dark Water (2005)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Walter Salles

Writers (WGA):

Kôji Suzuki (novel)
Hideo Nakata (film Honogurai mizu no soko kara) ...
(more)

Release Date:

8 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

This Season, The Mystery Of The Darkness Will Consume Your Life

Plot:

A mother and daughter, still wounded from a bitter custody dispute, hole up in a run-down apartment building. Adding further drama to their plight, they are targeted by the ghost of former resident.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Water | New York | School | Ghost

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jennifer Connelly	...	Dahlia Williams
John C. Reilly	...	Mr. Murray
Tim Roth	...	Jeff Platzer
Dougray Scott	...	Kyle Williams
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Veeck
Camryn Manheim	...	Teacher
Ariel Gade	...	Cecilia 'Ceci' Williams
Perla Haney-Jardine	...	Natasha Rimsky / Young Dahlia
Debra Monk	...	Young Dahlia's Teacher
Linda Emond	...	Mediator
Bill Buell	...	Mediator
J.R. Horne	...	Man in Train
Elina Löwensohn	...	Dahlia's Mother
Warren Belle	...	UPS Man
Alison Sealy-Smith	...	Supervisor
Simon Reynolds	...	Man in Elevator
Kate Hewlett	...	Teacher's Aide
Jennifer Baxter	...	Mary
Diego Fuentes	...	Night Doorman
Zoe Heath	...	Natasha's Mother
Craig muMs Grant	...	Platzer's Backseat Client (as muMs)
Matthew Lemche	...	Steve (as Matt Lemche)
Edward Kennington	...	Billy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ismael Peter Casillas III	...	School student (uncredited)
Marshall Factora	...	Mr. Bernstein (uncredited)

Directed by
Walter Salles

Writing credits (WGA)
Kôji Suzuki		(novel "Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara")
Hideo Nakata		(film Honogurai mizu no soko kara) and
Takashige Ichise		(film Honogurai mizu no soko kara) (as Taka Ichise)
Rafael Yglesias		(screenplay)

Produced by
Doug Davison	....	producer
Kerry Foster	....	associate producer
Ashley Kramer	....	executive producer
Roy Lee	....	producer
Bill Mechanic	....	producer
Diana Pokorny	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Angelo Badalamenti

Cinematography by
Affonso Beato

Film Editing by
Daniel Rezende

Casting by
Mali Finn
Tina Gerussi
Kelli Lerner
Carole Tarlington

Production Design by
Thérèse DePrez

Art Direction by
Nicholas Lundy
Andrew M. Stearn

Set Decoration by
Nick Evans
Clive Thomasson

Costume Design by
Michael Wilkinson

Makeup Department
David R. Beecroft	....	key hair stylist
Sylvain Cournoyer	....	key makeup artist
Tina Earnshaw	....	makeup artist: Ms. Connelly
Wayne Herndon	....	hair stylist: Ms. Connelly
Lori Hicks	....	key makeup artist: New York
Laurel Kelly	....	hair stylist: Ms. Connelly, additional photography
Elisa Marsh	....	key makeup artist: additional photography
Loretta Nero	....	key hair stylist: additional photography
Lydia Pensa	....	assistant hair stylist
John Quaglia	....	key hair stylist: New York (as John D. Quaglia)
Gordon J. Smith	....	special makeup effects artist (as Gord Smith)
Julia Valente	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Amy Herman	....	unit production manager
Andrea Isaacs	....	production supervisor: additional photography
Lyn Lucibello	....	unit production manager
Graham Stumpf	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Boem	....	first assistant director: insert unit
Jack Boem	....	third assistant director
Bruno Bryniarski	....	second assistant director
J.L. Crosbie	....	trainee assistant director: insert unit
Gianna DeGiulio	....	dga trainee
David Hallinan	....	first assistant director: additional photography (as Dave Hallinan)
Devin Hillier	....	third assistant director
Dylan Hopkins	....	first assistant director: second unit
Dylan Hopkins	....	second second assistant director: New York
Agnieszka Kroskowska	....	assistant director: cast (as Agnieszka Poninska)
Agnieszka Kroskowska	....	trainee assistant director (as Agnieszka Poninska)
Amy Lynn	....	second assistant director: New York
Stephanie P. O'Brien	....	second assistant director: additional photography (as Stephanie O'Brien)
Neesha Patki	....	trainee assistant director
John Sauvé	....	third assistant director
Bradley Tagieff	....	trainee assistant director
David J. Webb	....	first assistant director (as David Webb)
Adam T. Weisinger	....	second second assistant director: New York

Art Department
Darleen Abbott	....	construction accountant
David Best	....	graphic designer
Rudy Braun	....	set designer
Cameron S. Brooke	....	key scenic artist
Robert C. Brooke	....	lead scenic artist
Gary Cergol	....	art department coordinator
Peter DeCurtis	....	set dresser
David DiCorpo	....	assistant head carpenter
Britt Doughty	....	trainee assistant art director
Marc Fisichella	....	production designer: additional scenes
Beth Gilinsky	....	art coordinator
Paul Greenberg	....	graphic designer
J. Ryan Halpenny	....	assistant art director
Chris Hanson	....	scenic laborer
Jennifer Jacobsen	....	set decoration buyer
Max MacDonald	....	assistant art director
John Mackenzie	....	construction coordinator
Rob McCallum	....	storyboard artist
Anthony Munafo Jr.	....	on-set dresser
Julio Palma	....	set dresser
Joseph Proscia	....	leadman
Victor 'Chikko' Quon	....	assistant head painter
Vic Rigler	....	property master
Dave Rosa	....	head painter
Jennifer Santucci	....	art department assistant
Michael Shocrylas	....	set designer
Jeff Smith	....	art department apprentice
Grant Van Der Slagt	....	set designer
Jessica Panuccio	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Willy Allen	....	dialogue editor
David Bach	....	adr supervisor
Michael Barosky	....	sound mixer
Javier Bennassar	....	foley editor (as Javier Bennasar)
Paul Berolzheimer	....	sound effects editor
Tim Boggs	....	adr supervisor
Jed M. Dodge	....	dialogue editor (as Jed Dodge)
Rickley W. Dumm	....	first assistant sound editor
Brian Dunlop	....	adr recordist
Russell Farmarco	....	dialogue editor (as Russ Farmarco)
Frank Gaeta	....	sound designer
Frank Gaeta	....	supervising sound editor
Glen Gauthier	....	production sound mixer
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer
Lewis Goldstein	....	sound effects editor (as Lew Goldstein)
Paul Hackner	....	assistant sound editor
Catherine Harper	....	foley artist
Shawn Holden	....	sound mixer: additional photography
Xavier Horan	....	assistant sound editor
Robert Jackson	....	dialogue editor (as Bob Jackson)
Patricio A. Libenson	....	additional audio recordist (as Patricio Libenson)
Patrick Martens	....	boom operator: additional photography
Scott Millan	....	sound re-recording mixer
Christopher Moriana	....	foley artist
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
David Parker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Henrique Rezende	....	special sound effects
Scott Sanders	....	additional sound designer
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Cameron Steenhagen	....	adr editor
Cameron Steenhagen	....	dialogue editor
Steve Switzer	....	boom operator
Roland N. Thai	....	sound effects editor (as Roland Thai)
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Chris Trent	....	foley mixer
Dennis Twitty	....	sound assistant
Derek Vanderhorst	....	sound effects editor
Drew Webster	....	digital sound mix technician
James Wright	....	consultant: Dolby film sound (as Jim Wright)
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist
Dan Wilken	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Mark Bero	....	special effects coordinator: New York
Michael Bird	....	special effects technician: New York
Paul Brown	....	special effects technician
Peter Chesney	....	additional mechanical effects supervisor
Peter Chesney	....	special effects supervisor
Jon Davis	....	special effects technician
Aaron Dinsmore	....	special effects technician
Bruce Allan Donnellan	....	special effects foreman (as Bruce Donnellan)
Richard Bryan Douglas	....	special effects technician: New York
Inese Dzenis	....	special effects technician
Dan Gibson	....	first assistant key special effects (as Daniel Gibson)
Shaun Glendenning	....	special effects technician: additional photography
Timothy R. Hoffman	....	special effects assistant
Tony Kenny	....	water effects supervisor
Steven Kirshoff	....	special effects coordinator: New York (as Steve Kirshoff)
Gary Kleinsteuber	....	special effects technician
Kaz Kobielski	....	special effects coordinator
Kaz Kobielski	....	special effects director
Judy Kuntz	....	special effects technician
Salvator Larizza	....	special effects technician
Tim Lidstone	....	special effects technician
Derek Liscoumb	....	special effects technician
Ian Locke	....	special effects shop foreman
Al Marangoni	....	special effects technician: additional photography (as Albert Marangoni)
Phil Notaro	....	special effects coordinator: additional photography
David Reaume	....	special effects technician
Jim Reischl	....	special effects technician
Mark Rice	....	key special effects
Ted Ross	....	special effects technician
Troy Rundle	....	special effects technician
Robert J. Scupp	....	special effects foreman: New York
Michael Sherwin	....	special effects technician (as Mike Sherwin)
Mark Simon	....	special effects technician: New York
Dean Stewart	....	special effects office administrator
Sophie Vertigan	....	special effects props builder
Sophie Vertigan	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Mesrop Abrahamian	....	rotoscope artist: Flash Film Works
Nancy Bernstein	....	visual effects executive producer: Digital Domain
Corinne Bogdanowicz	....	digital artist
Steven J. Brooks	....	rotoscope artist: Flash Film Works
Craig Cannon	....	scanning and recording operator: Digital Domain
Michael Casillas	....	visual effects intern: Flash Film Works
John Coats	....	3D animator: Flash Film Works
John Coats	....	matte painting supervisor: Flash Film Works
Dan Cobbett	....	digital compositor: Digital Domain
Chad E. Collier	....	scanning and recording operator: Digital Domain
Brian Corpus	....	technical operations manager: Pacific Title and Art Studio
Sean Devereaux	....	visual effects compositor: Digital Domain
Bonnie Dombrowski	....	rotoscope artist: Flash Film Works
Jason Doss	....	3D integration artist: Digital Do
Tim Everitt	....	animation supervisor: Flash Film Works
Daniel Favini	....	digital matte painting: Digital Domain
Mark O. Forker	....	visual effects supervisor: Digital Domain
Jamieson Fry	....	digital artist: Digital Domain
Jon Greenhalgh	....	digital artist
Christine Haddad	....	rotoscope artist: Flash Film Works
Heather Elisa Hill	....	visual effects coordinator: Digital Domain
Shauna M. Hirdler	....	visual effects coordinator: Flash Film Works (as Shauna Hirdler)
Christopher Holsey	....	scanning and recording supervisor: Digital Domain
Jamison Huber	....	visual effects production assistant
Todd Isroelit	....	visual effects producer: Digital Domain
Dag Iversay	....	digital compositor: Digital Domain (as Dag Ivarsoy)
Dave Jacobs	....	rotoscope artist: Flash Film Works (as David Jacobs)
Lincoln Kupchak	....	visual effects editor: Flash Film Works
Kevin Lingenfelser	....	digital compositor: Digital Domain
Craig Mathieson	....	digital compositor
Robert McInnis	....	2d manager: Digital Domain
John P. Mesa	....	visual effects supervisor: Flash Film Works
William Mesa	....	visual effects supervisor: Flash Film Works
Stephen Mitchell	....	digital paint and rotoscope artist: Digital Domain
Colleen Murphy	....	digital effects coordinator: Digital Domain
Dan Novy	....	visual effects technical supervisor: Flash Film Works
Mario Peixoto	....	digital compositor: Digital Domain
Brian Peyatt	....	digital production manager: Digital Domain
Darren Poe	....	compositing supervisor: Digital Domain (as Darren M. Poe)
Anthony Ruey	....	technical assistant
Todd Sarsfield	....	digital color grader: Digital Domain
Som Shankar	....	3D integration artist: Digital Domain
Cybele Sierra	....	digital compositor: Digital Domain (as Cybelle Sierra)
Tess Spaulding	....	system administrator
Ken Stranahan	....	compositing supervisor: Flash Film Works
Ken Stranahan	....	digital compositor
James D. Tittle	....	visual effects coordinator: Pacific Title
Andrew Waisler	....	computer graphics supervisor: Digital Domain (as Andy McGrath Waisler)
Jeffrey White	....	visual effects producer: Flash Film Works
Deborah Wiltman	....	digital compositor: Digital Domain
Scott Ross	....	general manager: Digital Domain (uncredited)

Stunts
G.A. Aguilar	....	stunt coordinator: New York
Lauren A. Bonfiglio	....	stunts
Bob Brown	....	stunt coordinator: additional photography
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunts
Mavis Corrigan	....	stunts
Tom Farr	....	stunts
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	....	stunts (as Jeff Gibson)
Chloe Jones	....	stunts
Ciara Jones	....	stunts
Dana Jones	....	stunts
Jamie Jones	....	stunt coordinator: Toronto
Kelly Jones	....	stunts
Morgan Rue	....	stunts
Robert C. Shannon	....	water safety
Jay Spadaro	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Almeida	....	best boy electric: New York
Donald M. Angst	....	rig electrician
Tony Arnaud	....	grip
Pierre Berube	....	best boy rigging electric
Matt Blades	....	dolly grip: "b" camera
Russel Bowie	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera, second unit
Craig Bulmer	....	electrician
Kenny Burke	....	key rigging grip: New York
Ronald Burke	....	dolly grip: New York
David M. Carr	....	grip
Angelo Colavecchia	....	camera operator
John Colavecchia	....	assistant camera
Kathleen Corgan	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera, New York
Tim Davis	....	video assist operator
Gary Deneault	....	co-gaffer
Cylvan Desrouleaux	....	assistant camera
Chris Drechsler	....	electrician
William Engel	....	grip
Morris Flam	....	gaffer
Kevin Flynn	....	best boy grip: New York
Timothy Flynn	....	grip
Shaun Gilbert	....	rigging electric best boy: New York
Douglas C. Hart	....	additional first assistant camera
Sandy Hays	....	camera operator: "b" camera, New York
Timothy Healy	....	generator operator: New York
Elizabeth Hedges	....	camera loader
Chris Howard	....	gaffer: second unit
Jenny Kane	....	electrician
Chris Kilduff	....	grip
Mike Kirilenko	....	key grip
Jennifer Lai	....	camera loader
Kurt Lennig	....	rigging electric: New York
Clay Liversidge	....	rigging gaffer: New York
William MacGhee	....	rigging electrician
Ed Nessen	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera, New York
Heather Norton	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera, New York
Balint Pinczehelyi	....	grip
Robert T. Prate	....	best boy rigging grip: New York
Tom Prate	....	key grip
Rafy	....	still photographer
Felipe Reinheimer	....	assistant camera
Ron Renzetti	....	dolly grip
Brent Robinson	....	underwater first assistant camera
Ryan Rodriguez	....	electrician: New York
Monty Rowan	....	director of photography: second unit
David Schmalz	....	video assist operator
Dean Stinchcombe	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
Mark van Rossen	....	electrician: New York
Paul Varrieur	....	camera operator: "a" camera, New York
João Villela	....	camera trainee
Paul Goroff	....	super technocrane operator (uncredited)
Blain Thrush	....	second assistant camera: underwater unit (uncredited)

Animation Department
Mary C. Snyder	....	animator

Casting Department
Chad Darnell	....	extras casting: Los Angeles
Jonathan Leeder	....	casting associate
Kelli Lerner	....	casting: New York
Geoffrey Miclat	....	casting intern
Kimberly Mullen	....	casting: Florida
Mark Mullen	....	casting: Florida
David Rapaport	....	casting associate
Jennifer Sabel	....	extras casting associate
Kristian Sorge	....	extras casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jay Du Boisson	....	assistant costume designer
Gayle Franklin	....	costume buyer
Loreen Lightfoot	....	costume cutter
Debbie Lucas	....	seamstress
Trelawnie Mead	....	costume dyer/breakdown
Kate Quinlan	....	wardrobe supervisor
Nicci Schinman	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
Claudine Franco	....	post-production coordinator
Suzy Gilbert	....	assistant editor
Ahmad Ismail	....	telecine operator
Jamie Kirkpatrick	....	assistant editor: New York
Maria Montoreano	....	associate editor
John Potter	....	high definition preview timer
Pablo Prietto	....	assistant editor
Ian Silverstein	....	assistant editor
Mary Beth Smith	....	negative cutter
Dawn M. Stoliar	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Bryan Clements	....	scoring crew
Mark Eshelman	....	scoring crew
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer
Greg Loskorn	....	scoring technician
Larry Mah	....	digital score recordist
Phil Marshall	....	composer: additional music
Phil Marshall	....	orchestrator
Barbara McDermott	....	assistant music editor
Daniel McIntosh	....	music playback
Adam Michalak	....	score recordist
Bill Pearson	....	music recordist
Bill Pearson	....	score synth programmer
Joe E. Rand	....	music editor
Patrick Russ	....	orchestrator
Booker White	....	music preparation

Transportation Department
Rickey Giallonardo	....	transportation co-captain
Alan Kaminsky	....	driver generator operator
Robert Tenaglia	....	transportation co-coordinator

Other crew
Daniela Barbosa	....	production assistant
Susan Bradley	....	title designer
Ciara Bresnihan	....	production assistant
Francie Brown	....	dialect coach
Maria Carlota Fernandes Bruno	....	assistant: Mr. Salles (as Maria Carlota Bruno)
Jenn Bubka	....	production assistant
Michael Buster	....	dialect coach: Dougray Scott
Brooke Cale	....	stand-in
Adam Carroll	....	production assistant
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
Sonja Christoph	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Brianne Colombe	....	stand-in
Daniel B. Cone	....	production assistant
Lee Ann Cotton	....	assistant production coordinator
Cathy Coulson	....	production assistant
Alison Davis	....	production secretary: New York
Kevin Drysdale	....	production assistant
Rebecca Edelson	....	script clearance administrator
Deborah Evans	....	production accountant: re-shoots
Claudine Franco	....	production assistant
Lauren Gale	....	craft service
John Gaskin	....	production auditor
Lila Ghadban	....	photo double
Lila Ghadban	....	stand-in
Eileen Gibson	....	assistant: Mr. Salles
Greg Gilman	....	production assistant
Melissa Girotti	....	travel coordinator
Audra Gorman	....	location coordinator
Sabine Graham	....	production coordinator (as Sabine Bernhard)
Nadia Guglieri	....	second script supervisor
Andrew Jablonski	....	assistant accountant: reshoots
Adam Jordan	....	production assistant
Ryan Kampe	....	production assistant: New York
Brian Kaulback	....	stand-in
Sarah Landi	....	photo double
Brad Ling	....	on-set caterer
Mark Logan	....	location manager
Peter Madamba	....	script researcher
Andrew Magarian	....	acting coach
Sasha Markova	....	assistant: Ms. Connelly
Susan Marucci	....	script supervisor
Richard McDonough	....	set production assistant: additional photography
Ann McLaren	....	laboratory technician
Jennifer McLaughlin	....	assistant: Mr. Salles
Jason Messeri	....	set production assistant
Louise Muskala	....	assistant: Ms. Pokorny
Kip Myers	....	location assistant
Greg Newman	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Neil Parris	....	assistant: Ms. Kramer
Karen Pidgurski	....	unit publicist
Lauri Pitkus	....	location manager
Lynn H. Powers	....	assistant location manager
Judy Pursley	....	first assistant accountant
Robin M. Reelis	....	pre-production coordinator
Ulises Rodriguez	....	office production assistant
Jonathan Roumie	....	location scout
Maurice Sessoms	....	additional production assistant
Todd Shannon Jr.	....	underwater safety coordinator (as Todd Shannon)
Susan Silas	....	location scout
Kyle Sucher	....	production assistant
John Thomas	....	production secretary
David Velasco	....	location scout
Reid Warman	....	assistant production coordinator
Angie Winstl	....	assistant production coordinator
Greg Wood	....	on-set nurse
Christine Zavala	....	production coordinator: re-shoots
Mark Zecca	....	production secretary
Warner Strauss	....	location scout (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Touchstone Pictures (presents)
• Pandemonium Productions (as Pandemonium)
• Vertigo Entertainment
• Post No Bills Films

Distributors

• Buena Vista Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International Italia (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Falcon (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Toho-Towa (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Digital Domain (special visual effects)
• Flash Film Works (visual effects)
• Pacific Title Digital (opticals)
• Effects Group

Other Companies

• Absolute Rentals  post-production rentals
• Buena Vista Negative Cutting  negative cutting
• Chandler Valley Center Studios  stage facilities
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Custom Film Effects  main and end title production
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Hollywood Records  soundtrack
• Kelli Lerner Casting  casting
• Orbit Digital  Avids
• Pacific Title  opticals (as Pacific Title Digital)
• Playback Technologies  24 frame video playback
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Signet Sound Studio  score mixed at
• Sony Scoring Stage  score recorded at
• Sound for Film  sound editing
• Susan Bradley Film Design  title design
• Technicolor  prints
• Todd-AO Studios (West)  sound re-recording
• Tomkats Catering  catering
• Walt Disney Music Library, The  music preparation

Also Known As:

Água Negra (Brazil) [pt]
Agua turbia (Argentina) [es]
Dark Water (France) [fr]
Dark Water - Dunkle Wasser (Germany) [de]
Dark water - La huella (Spain) [es]
Eau trouble (Canada: French title) [fr]
Karanlik su (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Stoiheiomeno nero (Greece) [el]
Tumma vesi (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, frightening sequences, disturbing images and brief language.

Runtime:

105 min | 103 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Sweden:15 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Philippines:PG-13 | Germany:16 | Iceland:12 (theatrical rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Malaysia:U | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Norway:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Chandler Valley Center Studios - 13927 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The heartbeat heard during Dahlia's migraines are from an ultrasound scan of Daniel Rezende's wife who got pregnant at the beginning of the shooting.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the custody office when Dahlia is arguing with Kyle over hers and Ceci's relocation, Dahlia takes out a newspaper cutting detailing how good the school near her new apartment is; she holds it up with her right hand. In the following shot the article has switched hands, and Kyle snatches it from her left hand.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Ceci: OK, Daddy - let's go.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Scary Movie 4 (2006)

Soundtrack:

I Got Soul

Teenagers!

Don't know about you all, but I've sort of had it up to here with teenagers. Walter Salles' *Dark Water* flopped because of teenagers. The geniuses up the highway from me at the Walt Disney Company tried to market this psychological drama -- in SUMMER! -- to teenagers as a slasher film . . . OOPS. When the teenagers discovered that the film's primary concern was with a troubled single mother, fresh from a nasty divorce and currently embroiled in a custody fight, they lost patience with it (the screen offering no steaming entrails oozing from savagely slashed pregnant abdomens and such) and commenced downloading ring-tones from Katazo on their cellphones in the darkened theaters. The epilogue to the sorry saga of this film's release? The teenagers infest this website with their 1-star reviews and poor grammar and ALL CAPS SENTENCES. Look, I've got an idea: I think it's high time that the folks at IMDb create an entirely separate website -- let's call it "IMDbTeen" -- in which the children can vent their spleen and leave THIS site for the rest of us to discuss movies. And no, banishing the youngsters to the discussion boards won't cut the mustard -- the Ritalin-addicted kids, thumbs sore from their PSPs, have obviously found their way to the review pages. Or perhaps IMDb, which is owned by Amazon, can follow their corporate parent's lead and force teenagers to identify themselves as such -- the rest of us can then ignore their comments.

Pardon the W.C. Fields rant, but *Dark Water* is too good a film to be hijacked by walking pimple sacks, sorry. Here is a great work of art that has been virtually disowned by its director because of the poor box office returns. Hey, Salles, if you're reading this, there's no reason for you to hang your head in shame over this picture. I, for one, appreciated your baroque homage to Polanski's *Repulsion*, and can even state that the performance you get out of Jennifer Connelly actually surpasses Deneuve's work in that earlier film. Connelly thoroughly inhabits the role -- an unglamorous one that asks this beautiful actress to dress in ratty clothes while suffering from constant migraines. She convinces us as a desperate case, both financially and emotionally, and also convinces us that Dahlia is an honest-to-goodness mom (Connelly has a couple of kids in real life, which not only helps, but is a necessity on an actress' resume if she presumes to play this part). And it's not just Connelly who scores in the acting department: John C. Reilly as the superintendent delivers an immortal monologue (mostly improvised, according to the DVD extras) as he offers Dahlia and her daughter a grand tour of the hideous housing project on Roosevelt Island that is the setting of the movie. "Where's the living room?" asks Dahlia. "This is it," effuses Reilly, "It's both bedroom AND living room! It's what they call a DUAL-USE room. Look at it -- it's huge!" Anyone who has ever dealt with a real estate agent will recognize Reilly's canny mix of friendliness and utter untrustworthiness. A-class talent such as Pete Postlethwaite and Tim Roth also make significant contributions as the building's janitor and Dahlia's lawyer, respectively.

But the prime virtue of the film is in the photography and set design. *Dark Water* is that rarest of horror films: it's set in the city. Roosevelt Island, to be precise, that run-down spit of land across the river from Manhattan, encrusted with Soviet-bloc inspired tenement housing. ("The Brutalist style," as Reilly would have it.) Salles' DP has a field day in this environment, getting some nice aerial shots of the brick and cement rat maze, as well as some low shots pointing up toward the tenement towers' imposing height. The weather is usually rainy (the incessant leitmotiv of the film is water, obviously), the sky is gun-gray, smokestacks dominate the horizon, the overall color palette consists of institutional gray, poverty-row brown, icky black, depression blue. The interiors, specifically of Dahlia and Ceci's apartment -- along with the mysterious 10-F directly upstairs -- is a fond homage to Catherine Deneuve's greasy, miserable apartment in Polanski's *Repulsion*, with some nods thrown towards the Coens' *Barton Fink* along the way (especially in regards to the peeling plaster and moist dry-wall and overall dilapidation).

But is *Dark Water* really scary? Presumably, this would be the point. It's probably not scary enough to scare the pimple sacks, but it's scary enough for those who've had to deal with life's most fundamental problems, such as raising a child alone, or finding oneself crippled by either physical or mental handicaps, aggravated by an unhappy past, WHILE raising a child alone. In other words, it's scary enough for grown-ups, who can find terror in watching their children cross a busy intersection. And in any case, Salles delivers a few choice jolts along the way, which I won't spoil. But the genius of the film is in its atmosphere: an unrelenting brooding menace that feeds off of urban misery. *Dark Water* is depressing and scary.

And splendid. 9 ardent stars out of 10.