Lady in the Water...

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Hi, some opinions about this film?

For me: I saw it a couple of days ago, and though I really love Shyamalan's style and directing and past films (I even loved The Village very much, I only didn't like the end of Signs, which made me laugh) but this movie, to me, really sucked as much as the negative critics say it does...

And all the blame is on the script.
Good acting, not superbe, but good, good music, but not superb, pretty nice visuals, but the script!
It's not compelling, not believable, it makes you laugh, it seems like it's made up as it goes, the climax is stupid, no tension,...

I hope Shyamalan can make another good movie after this. I'm not one that says that every movie he makes should have a twist or has to be supernatural (although I like the latter :-)) but this movie was really bad...

OTher opinions?

[Boyd Ostroff]

Sure, I'll take the contrarian position. I went to see it in the theatre with my director friend Kay. I had been avoiding the movie due to all the negativity which surrounded it. Aside from the critics, I know several people who were on the crew which built the scenery, and they seemed to be very down on the film as well. But my daughter and her boyfriend saw it and were surprised that they actually liked it. She said they were afraid to admit it to most of their friends though.

So sitting in the theatre before the film started we we very apprehensive and talking about what other movie we could still catch if we wanted to walk out early. But once the film started we were both pleasantly surprised; we liked it a lot.

I won't attempt any in depth analysis, but just make a few observations. Obviously this was a film that Shyamalan wanted to make for personal reasons. I also think he realized that it might not appeal to a lot of people, especially the critics. Having a vicious creature kill the critic seems to support this theory, and is very funny I think. But I admire him for doing this project and making the movie he wanted, aside from whatever the critics thought.

I also really like the fact that it's just a simple fairytale. I guess you need to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate that. But again, I liked the simple straightforward approach which didn't try to justify the fantasy elements.

I was also glad to see that Shyamalan didn't have a surprise plot twist in this film. It's a big step for him to completely move away from that plot device, and it makes me interested to see what kind of film he'll make next.

I really liked The Sixth Sense, but his second movie didn't do much for me (Unbreakable). I'm with you Mathieu when it comes to Signs. He we doing fine with that film until we saw the goofy aliens. I liked The Village.

But I always find his work interesting, and will continue to see his films in the future. To each his own....

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Yeah, you're right, I do respect him for doing his own thing. I do think that's one of the most important things an artist should do, just do his own thing, with or without the support of a studio.
I just hope I'll like his next better :-)

Best regards,

[Kevin Wild]

I have to chime in and say I guessed the "twist" on "The Village" in the first 10 minutes. That's what happens when you become the "director who always has a big twist at the end." He needs to stop that...

KW

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Originally Posted by Kevin Wild

I have to chime in and say I guessed the "twist" on "The Village" in the first 10 minutes. That's what happens when you become the "director who always has a big twist at the end." He needs to stop that...

KW

I actually really liked the Village, because I really went with the drama in the movie. I didn't really saw it as a horror or something supernatural.