Lady in the Water (2006)
don't be afraid to feel it, 22 July 2006


*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Shyamalan is absolutely masterful at creating mood, evoking
atmosphere. He doesn't so much make a movie, he casts a spell. Lady
In The Water does that brilliantly - it casts an intense, palpable
spell, from the clever little prologue, all the way through to the
closing credits. Each of his cinematic trips thus far have done this -
they create a total reality of their own, and you either let
yourself be part of it by accepting it one hundred percent, or you
don't.

Lady In The Water once again creates its own reality, in spades.
Sure, the plot can be construed as ridiculous, unsubtle, absurd. But
that's only if you're on the outside, looking in. If you allow
yourself, on the other hand, to surrender to the vision of a master,
you will have a thoroughly different experience, as I did.

The most wonderful thing about this experience is Shyamalan's
magnificent casting choice of Paul Giamatti, in the lead role of
Cleveland Heep. If you're not one of those who has caught on by now
that Giamatti is probably the most brilliant American actor working
today, perhaps this movie will convince you. His performance here is
breath-taking. There's a scene quite near the end =-= SPOILER ALERT -
=- where Giamatti's character has to finally deal with something
horrible that happened in his life, to his loved ones, and the way he
plays the scene breaks your heart - you can truly feel his anguish,
what he's kept pent up inside for so long; the truth of what Giamatti
as an actor manages to convey in this scene is transcendent and
extraordinary, one of the purest scenes of raw emotion ever committed
to celluloid. For this scene alone, I would beg you to surrender
yourself to this film.