{"id":542,"date":"2006-12-19T21:10:47","date_gmt":"2006-12-20T04:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/2006\/12\/19\/the-lady-in-the-water\/"},"modified":"2022-10-27T10:45:27","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T14:45:27","slug":"the-lady-in-the-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-lady-in-the-water\/","title":{"rendered":"M. Night Shyamalan squanders the last of his goodwill in The Lady in the Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I don’t know where to start with this one. I’ve been a M. Night Shyamalan<\/a> fan from the very beginning, even when the role was better described as apologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even to a fan, nearly every film comes with a “yeah, but…” disclaimer: The Sixth Sense<\/em> is an excellent piece of slight-of-hand with some genuine emotion, but let down by an extended montage at the end recapping events recontextualized by the already-clear Big Plot Reveal. Unbreakable<\/em>, my personal favorite of his, is a remarkably mature character piece on a real-world Superman, but whose comic-book origins probably alienated a mainstream audience that wants its comic book movies clearly signposted by garish costumes and action set pieces. Signs<\/em> is a perfectly crafted sci-fi thriller that doubles as a wildly funny comedy (an intentional one, I should be clear… more on that later), but the delicious suspense is nearly ruined in the end by the filmmakers’ overconfidence in their shoddy CGI alien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The backlash started as soon as The Sixth Sense<\/em>, perhaps in direct correlation with its box office take, with people falling over themselves claiming to have detected the Big Plot Reveal well ahead of time. But The Village<\/em> marked the moment when the grumbling turned sour. If not nearly as bad as its critical reception, The Village<\/em> was a disappointment; its promising scenario satirizing the contemporary situation in Bush’s color-coded police state is stifled by a lack of humor uncharacteristic for the director, not to mention an underwhelming twist lacking the emotional punch of The Sixth Sense<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classic Shyamalan film is a schematicly constructed jigsaw, which in itself is a great pleasure. But in The Lady in the Water<\/em>, the tail wags the dog to an even greater degree than The Village<\/em>. Humorless, pretentious, and forehead-slappingly… well, sorry for the cheap shot… stupid<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don’t know where to start with this one. I’ve been a M. Night Shyamalan fan from the very beginning, even when the role was better described as apologist. Even to a fan, nearly every film comes with a “yeah, but…” disclaimer: The Sixth Sense is an excellent piece of slight-of-hand with some genuine emotion, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[1515,1150,42,238,1380,1255,85],"class_list":["post-542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-0-stars","category-movies","tag-1515","tag-bryce-dallas-howard","tag-fantasy","tag-m-night-shyamalan","tag-mermaid","tag-paul-giamatti","tag-science-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/lady-in-the-water-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-8K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1236,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/happening\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":0},"title":"Thinning the Herd: M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Happening is the latest in a long line of light entertainments that depict attacks of one sort (terrorist) or another (alien) upon New York City. A mysterious mass hysteria strikes the idyllic Bethesda Terrace (a place I walk through several times a week) in Manhattan's Central Park, and quickly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Happening","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/the-happening.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/the-happening.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/the-happening.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/the-happening.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/the-happening.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5766,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/riddick-makes-the-most-haphazard-of-movie-franchises\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":1},"title":"Riddick makes the most haphazard of movie franchises","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"September 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When even the humblest movies are planned to allow for multiple sequels if at all financially feasible, the Riddick trilogy (and counting?) must be one of the most haphazard of movie franchises. I doubt many would have expected any kind of sequel at all to 2000's Pitch Black, and yet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vin Diesel in Riddick","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/riddick.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/riddick.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/riddick.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/riddick.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/riddick.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":177,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-march-17-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":2},"title":"The Dork Report for March 17, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Who ever said labels were misleading? A surprisingly good article on the digital future of movies in Time. All the right filmmakers are interviewed, with lots of interesting (and sometimes bitchy) things to say: Mann, Shyamalan, Lucas, Rodriguez, Soderberg. A for Alan, Part Two. You can cut the irony with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2060,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/solitary-confinement-moon\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":3},"title":"Solitary Confinement: Moon","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"November 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Moon is a rare science fiction thriller that doesn't derive its tension solely from the spectacle of spaceships, robots, or offworld locale. Rather, it's a psychodrama about paranoia, in the Philip K. Dick tradition of Blade Runner, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly (not to mention the countless movies Dick\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Moon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/moon-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/moon-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/moon-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/moon-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/moon-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8183,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-long-forgotten-comic-book-villain-black-adam-makes-for-a-quickly-forgotten-movie\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":4},"title":"The long-forgotten comic book villain Black Adam makes for a quickly-forgotten movie","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jaume Collet-Serra's dreadful Black Adam is damning evidence that Hollywood has forgotten why kids like superheroes in the first place.","rel":"","context":"In "1 Star"","block_context":{"text":"1 Star","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/1-star\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black Adam movie","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-adam.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-adam.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-adam.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-adam.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-adam.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1770,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":5},"title":"Frank Miller’s The Spirit is the Insane and Unhinged Product of a Uniquely Obsessed Auteur Mind","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"At last, finally another entry to our hallowed pantheon of zero-star unholy cinema atrocities. Frank Miller's The Spirit is far more than just merely bad. Like the most infamous movie disaster of all, Ed Wood's Plan Nine From Outer Space), it veers wildly from stunning weirdness to unintentional hilarity, interspersed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "0 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"0 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/0-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Spirit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/the-spirit-movie-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7945,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions\/7945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}