| Lady in the Water | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | M. Night Shyamalan |
| Written by | M. Night Shyamalan |
| Produced by | Sam Mercer M. Night Shyamalan |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Christopher Doyle |
| Edited by | Barbara Tulliver |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70 million[2] |
| Box office | $72.8 million[2] |
Lady in the Water is a 2006 Americanfantasypsychological thriller film written and directed byM. Night Shyamalan, who produced withSam Mercer. The film features the starring cast ofPaul Giamatti andBryce Dallas Howard withBob Balaban,Jeffrey Wright,Sarita Choudhury,Freddy Rodriguez,Bill Irwin, andJared Harris in supporting roles. Produced byLegendary Pictures andBlinding Edge Pictures and distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures, the film's plot concerns the superintendent of a Philadelphia apartment complex who discovers a young woman in the swimming pool. Gradually, he and his neighbors learn that she is awater nymph (or Narf) whose life is in danger from a vicious, wolf-like, mystical creature called a Scrunt that tries to keep her from returning to her watery "blue world".Lady in the Water was released on July 21, 2006. It is Shyamalan's first film not distributed byWalt Disney Studios under theirTouchstone Pictures andHollywood Pictures labels sinceWide Awake.
The film received negative reviews, with criticism revolving around the self-indulgence with which Shyamalan cast himself in the film, the lack of consistency, and the film's characterization. The film was also afinancial failure grossing $72 million against a $70 million production budget. At the27th Golden Raspberry Awards,Lady in the Water received four nominations forWorst Picture andWorst Screenplay, and won two forWorst Director, andWorst Supporting Actor for Shyamalan.
One evening, Cleveland Heep, the superintendent of aPhiladelphia apartment complex, discovers Story, a naiad-like being, in his building’s pool. Heep immediately rescues Story from an attack by a Scrunt, a grass-covered, wolf-like creature that hides by flattening its body against the turf. It is also revealed that Heep became the superintendent of his building after his family was murdered.
Story, who has come from the Blue World, explains that she has arrived to find the Writer, the "vessel" who will be magically awakened when he meets her, and then write a book that will save humanity in the future. When Heep mentions the word "Narf" to tenant Young-Soon, she recognizes it from stories told by her mother, Mrs. Choi, then summarizes the stories for him.
After questioning residents from around the apartment complex, Heep discovers the Writer is tenant Vick Ran, who is struggling to completeThe Cookbook. Heep brings Vick to Story; their meeting eliminates his fear and sharpens hisinner voice. She later explains thatThe Cookbook will contain views and ideas so significant they will inspire a futurepresident, a greatMidwesternorator, to greatly change the world for the better. Vick later deduces, and Story confirms, that he will be killed because of the controversial nature of his ideas.
As Mrs. Choi remembers more details of the Narf legend, Heep better understands the situation. The Tartutic, an invinciblesimian-like trio that serve as the Blue World'speacekeeping force, have forbidden any attack on Story while she travels home. Nonetheless, the Scrunt does just that because they know that Story is destined to be a great Narf leader, the once in a generation Madam Narf who will let all of humanity know they are on the right path.
For Story to recover from her wounds and return safely, she foresees that she will need the help of a Guardian, a Symbolist, a Guild, and a Healer. Story believes Heep to be her Guardian; Heep asks Farber, an abrasivefilm critic, to help him figure out the others' identities. Working off movietropes, Farber misadvises Heep, leading him to a flawed conclusion that a resident named Dury is the Symbolist, the smokers are the Guild, and a kindly woman named Bell is the Healer.
Heep confronts the Scrunt, but nearly dies in the process, convincing him he is not the Guardian. The next night, Farber's bad advice leads to their plan's immediate failure. In the confusion, Farber is killed and Story is mortally wounded by the Scrunt. Dury suddenly realizes his son Joey is the real Symbolist. Interpreting the information on cereal boxes, Joey deduces the true Guild is composed ofseven sisters, that two new men must be present, and that the Healer is a man, soon revealed to be Heep. Heep goes about healing Story by bringing forth his repressed grief about his family with Story's wounds healing when he confesses to her that he does not want to lose her too.
Story again prepares to depart, but the Scrunt attacks. It is stopped by the gaze of Reggie, a lopsidedly muscled tenant who clearly is the Guardian. Reggie's intense stare and stalking approach intimidate the Scrunt into a slow retreat, but Reggie is distracted by the cry of the giant eagle arriving to transport Story back to the Blue World. When Reggie momentarily breaks eye contact, the Scrunt leaps, but the concealed Tartutic leap out of hiding, grab it, and drag it away.
Story hugs Heep goodbye; he thanks her for saving his life. The eagle lands, enfolds Story in one of its wings, and as the residents gaze on, it carries Story up into the night sky.
David Ogden Stiers is the uncredited narrator heard at the opening of the film.
The film was originally planned to be produced byTouchstone Pictures—just as M. Night Shyamalan's previous four films were released byWalt Disney Studios—but ultimately no deal was reached. Disney executiveNina Jacobson had spoken with Shyamalan about the film's storyline, the idea for which studio chairmanDick Cook didn't understand.[3] Shyamalan was reportedly angry about the response, claiming that Disney "no longer valued individualism".[4] Despite the fact that Disney was willing to completely fund the film regardless, Shyamalan rejected their offer and eventually presented the project toWarner Bros., who agreed to finance the film. The events that led to the making of the film were featured in a book,The Man Who Heard Voices, byMichael Bamberger.[5][6][7]
Shyamalan established a production facility at the Jacobson Logistics warehouse site in nearbyLevittown, Pennsylvania, where sets for the apartment complex and a half-city block ofrow houses were built. Occasional footage was shot inside the overflow area of the warehouse. Most of the filming was completed after work hours.
Having already formulated ideas for thescore the previous year,James Newton Howard wrote it during the early part of 2006, and the orchestral score was recorded over a period of four days in May by the 91-pieceHollywood Studio Symphony.[8]
| Lady in the Water | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | July 18, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | May 2006 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Producer | Amanda Ghost Tom Herbers Oliver Leiber | |||
| James Newton Howard chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [9] |
| Filmtracks | |
| SoundtrackNet | |
The soundtrack was composed byJames Newton Howard. The last four tracks are non-soundtrackBob Dylan covers from singer/songwriterAmanda Ghost,indie rock bandA Whisper in the Noise, and rock 'n' roll revivalistsSilvertide. Howard won theIFMCA Award for Best Film Score forLady in the Water in 2006, as well as the awards for Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film, and Best Single Cue of 2006 for "The Great Eatlon"[10]
In its opening weekend (July 21–23, 2006), the film grossed a total of $18.2 million, placing third in the U.S behindPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest andMonster House. It was Shyamalan's lowest opening for any of his five major films. As a result of the negative reviews and poor word-of-mouth, its second week fell sharply to $7.1 million, pushing its total to only $32.2 million. Its third weekend was no better, falling another 62.1% to $2.7 million. As of 2011, its total was $42.285 million. In addition, the film made only $30.5 million in other territories, bringing its tally to approximately $72.785 million internationally.[2]
Lady in the Water received predominantly negative reviews from critics upon release. On thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 25% based on 212 reviews, with an average rating of 4.30/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A far-fetched story with little suspense and unconvincing scenarios,Lady in the Water feels contrived, pretentious, and rather silly."[11] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 36 out of 100 based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[12] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a grade B− on scale of A to F.[13]
Brian Lowry ofVariety magazine wrote a scathing advance review that appeared on July 16, 2006.[5] Common complaints about the film were that little effort was put into getting the viewer to believe in the world, that few moments of the film could be taken seriously, and that Shyamalan was using the film as a form of self-indulgence; instead of having a minorcameo, as in most of his films, Shyamalan cast himself as a visionary whose writing changes the world, and another character included a film critic—portrayed by actorBob Balaban as arrogant, self-assured, and passive—who comes to a violent end. Many reviewers attacked this perceived self-indulgence:Manohla Dargis ofThe New York Times wrote of the story, "Apparently those who live in the water now roam the earth trying to make us listen, though initially it's rather foggy as to what precisely we are supposed to hear—the crash of the waves, the songs of the sirens, the voice of God—until we realize that of course we're meant to cup our ear to an even higher power: Mr. Shyamalan."[14] Of Shyamalan's role in the film,Mark Kermode said, "It's like someone pouring petrol over their heads and setting fire to themselves."[15]
Frank Lovece ofFilm Journal International said, "Fans of actor Paul Giamatti or of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan may get something out ofLady in the Water, a fractured fairy tale about a water nymph who comes to a Philadelphia apartment house to deliver an important message. Anyone else is likely to be perplexed by the muddled mythmaking or actively astonished at the self-indulgent ego of a writer-director-producer who casts himself in the role of a visionary writer whose martyrdom will change the world."[16]Michael Medved gaveLady in the Water one-and-a-half stars (out of four) calling it, "…a full-out, flamboyant cinematic disaster, a work of nearly unparalleled arrogance and vapidity", adding, "…Lady in the Water is all wet…"[17] Also panned was the fact that the film was based on a bedtime story Shyamalan told to his children; Pete Vonder Haar ofFilm Threat commented: "If Shyamalan is going to use his kids as a focus group for future projects, maybe he should start making movies forNickelodeon already and stop wasting our time."[18]
CNN's Tom Charity, among others, has calledLady in the Water the worst film of 2006.[19] It was listed byVariety as one of the ten "biggest (financial) losers" of 2006.[20][21]Wesley Morris ofThe Boston Globe wrote that though the film is "built on too much ponderous self-regard…[t]here is a good chunk ofLady in the Water that is simply too well made and affectingly acted to dismiss as a mere exercise in arrogance."[22]
The film was ranked sixth in the influential film magazineCahiers du cinéma's top ten films of 2006, above films such asTerrence Malick'sThe New World andMartin Scorsese'sThe Departed.[23]
| Award | Category | Subject | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teen Choice Awards | 20 August 2006 | Choice Summer Movie – Drama/Action-Adventure | Nominated | [24] | |
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | 2007 | Worst Picture | Sam Mercer | Nominated | [25] |
| M. Night Shyamalan | Nominated | ||||
| Worst Director | Nominated | ||||
| Worst Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Cindy Cheung | Won | |||
| Most Annoying Fake Accent (Female) | Won | ||||
| Worst Ensemble | The entire cast | Nominated | |||
| Least Scary Horror Movie | Sam Mercer | Won | |||
| M. Night Shyamalan | Won | ||||
| IFMCA Awards | 23 February 2007 | Film Score of the Year | James Newton Howard | Won | [26] |
| Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film | Won | ||||
| Film Music Composition of the Year | James Newton Howard ("The Great Eatlon") | Won | |||
| Golden Raspberry Awards | 24 February 2007 | Worst Picture | Sam Mercer | Nominated | [27] |
| M. Night Shyamalan | Nominated | ||||
| Worst Director | Won | ||||
| Worst Supporting Actor | Won | ||||
| Worst Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
| Young Artist Awards | 10 March 2007 | Best Young Actor – Ten or Under | Noah Gray-Cabey | Nominated | [28] |
Lady in the Water was released simultaneously onDVD,HD DVD, andBlu-ray by Warner Home Video on December 19, 2006. Notably, it is the only M. Night Shyamalan film that was ever released on HD DVD.[29][30][31]
Shyamalan authored a 72-page children's book titledLady in the Water: A Bedtime Story, illustrated by . This book was released by Little, Brown on June 21, 2006, serving as a companion piece to the film.[32]
The narrative delves into the mythos of the narf, scrunt, Tartutic, and Eatlon, mirroring their roles in the film. It also introduces unique elements not present in the movie, such as the sensations experienced by a vessel upon awakening and the whimsical notion that a narf's presence activates lawn sprinklers. While the book hints at roles like Madame Narf, Healer, Symbolist, Guild, and Guardian, it leaves their specifics to the reader's imagination.[33]
JournalistMichael Bamberger pennedThe Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale, providing an insider's look at the creation ofLady in the Water. The hardcover edition was published by Gotham Books on July 6, 2006, with the eBook version released on July 20, 2006.[34]
Bamberger's account offers a detailed chronicle of Shyamalan's creative process, from script development to on-location filming. It also explores the director's decision to part ways with Disney and collaborate with Warner Bros. for this project. The book provides a candid portrayal of the challenges and triumphs faced during the film's production.[35]
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