"THE LADY IN THE WATER"

Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, M. Night Shyamalan, Jeffrey Wright,

"Time is running out for a happy ending"

THX Cinema 3, Glorietta 4
Invitational advance screening

Yay so I won 2 tickets for the advanced screening of Manosh's (yes I address M. Night Shyamalan that way) latest offering, "The Lady in the Water".

Facts:
1) The film is based on a bedtime story that Manosh told his kids.
2) It stars Bryce Dallas Howard who also appeared in his previous film, "The Village."
3) Manosh has a bigger role in this film. He plays a pivotal character quite essential in the grand scheme of things as they unfold in this fairy tale story.
4) This is his first film that doesn't have a twist.
5) Don't judge a movie by its theatrical trailers/previews.

The bedtime story occurs in an apartment complex called The Cove which is run quite efficiently by a simple man named Cleveland Heep. As most of Manosh's films goes, the setting is in Philadelphia. There are a whole bunch of real persons as well as fairy tale characters who inhabit in the Cove. The main character though is a water nymph called Story who lives beneath the swimming pool. Story is brilliantly portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard aka as Ron Howard's daughter. Her pale, gaunt feature with long curly tresses makes you think she is really a nymph, a persona from what else a fairy tale. Paul Giamatti as your everyday lonely miserable man who tries to maintain some semblance of normalcy in his life as the superintendent of the apartment complex is very believable as Cleveland Heeps. A man with a dark tragic past who has somehow blocked it out of his system. A character anyone can truly emphatize with. The ensemble cast, a whole bunch of different people from all walks of life as well as from different races that live in The Cove all play essential roles who in each way contribute to make this bedtime story quite fascinating to watch. But the one part which got to me is the underlying theme which Manosh effortlessly conveyed through this film. The 'everyone has a purpose in life' message is clearly the main point. So if you can understand that message, you can be excused for rolling your eyes in disbelief about creatures like narfs, a dog like animal and an underwater world.

Q & A:
1) Was it as good as "The Sixth Sense"?
No
2) Is it as creepy as the trailer/preview likes us to believe?
No
3) Does it have an implied meaning?
Definitely
4) Did you like the film?
Yes I did
5) Would you recommend it?
My answer(s) would be:

If you truly appreciate the abundantly ingenious talent of Manosh, watch it.

If you don't believe in 'meaningful' fairy tales, don't watch it.

But if like me, your reason to see movies is to find some hidden meaning to life. As well as try to figure out how that implication can in some way or the other may or may not shape my life as an individual then by all means, watch "The Lady in the Water". You will definitely savor it in the deep recesses of your psyche!