"...In their rush to make a mockery of M. Night and condemn his
work, some critics are failing to notice that this rather flawed
film is set on the shoulders of Paul Giamatti who, with impressive
stamina and spirit, carries it like a cross. He gives a
fantastically funny and engaging performance, commanding our
attention in this context more effectively than any other Hollywood
leading man could.

And that's a good thing because when we turn our attention
elsewhere, Lady in the Water pretty much dissolves. It's a
challenging movie to sell, loaded with preposterous bedtime story
inventions... the kind that tells you the storyteller is frantically
making it up as he goes, concocting desperate patches to cover the
holes along the way. Shyamalan seems to be testing the limits of our
suspension of disbelief. But Giamatti takes this clunker and sells
it as if it were the Movie of the Year, and as it is, his
performance should be remembered among the best of 2006."

Hear, hear!