Lady in the Water (2006)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

21 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Time is running out for a happy ending.

Plot:

Apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Bedtime Story | Stuttering | Swimming Pool | Eagle

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Paul Giamatti	...	Cleveland Heep
Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Story
Jeffrey Wright	...	Mr. Dury
Bob Balaban	...	Harry Farber
Sarita Choudhury	...	Anna Ran
Cindy Cheung	...	Young-Soon Choi
M. Night Shyamalan	...	Vick Ran
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Reggie
Bill Irwin	...	Mr. Leeds
Mary Beth Hurt	...	Mrs. Bell
Noah Gray-Cabey	...	Joey Dury
Joseph D. Reitman	...	Long Haired Smoker
Jared Harris	...	Goatee Smoker
Grant Monohon	...	Emaciated Smoker
John Boyd	...	One-Eyebrow Smoker

Also Known As:

A Dama na Água (Brazil) [pt]
Das Mädchen aus dem Wasser (Germany) [de]
La dama en el agua (Argentina) [es]
La dame de l'eau (Canada: French title) [fr]
La jeune fille de l'eau (France) [fr]
La joven del agua (Spain) [es]
Lady in the Water (Greece) [el]
Naine vees (Estonia) [et]
Sudaki kiz (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some frightening sequences.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | Ireland:12A | UK:PG | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42716) | India:U | Australia:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:16 | Germany:12 | Brazil:10 | Netherlands:12 | Hungary:14 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Sweden:11 | Italy:T | South Korea:All | Canada:G (Québec) | New Zealand:PG

Filming Locations:

Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Night was in talks with Philip Seymour Hoffman for an unspecified role. Hoffman, despite the fact that he "loved the script, liked the role" had scheduling conflicts.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During a couple scenes, a hefty wind sound effect plays as the pool and the surrounding trees and bushes are shown. Neither the bushes nor the trees are blown by the wind.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cleveland Heep: Once, man and those in the water were linked. They inspired us. They spoke of the future. Man listened and it became real. But man does not listen very well. Man's need to own everything led him deeper into land. The magic world of the ones that lived in the ocean...

Movie Connections:

References "Dora the Explorer" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Bittersweet Samba

A good little original movie

This movie will surely earn its detractors due to its slow story telling. Todays audiences become bored the second something does not explode or die. This film isn't going to be a broad hit but instead it feels like a curious little independent film with big studio backing. Its more so a tale of finding ones purpose and will to live on as opposed to the fairy tale story that is ultimately its background. A nice change of pace from the stuff like "Little Man" and "Mission Impossible III". Not all movies are going to be liked by everyone, but given the chance Lady in the Water will find its following and make them feel a little bit better after seeing it.