Lady In The Water

[ehowton]

I caught the last half hour or so of Lady in the Water my wife had recorded from Pay Per View last week. I was so enamored with the score that I listened to the soundtrack day and night for two days. Tonight, I decided to watch the movie in its entirety, and was not disappointed. The characters were very well portrayed and the actors well cast. Paul Giamatti did a particularly good job - something I wasn't quite expecting from him. And M. Night Shyamalan had more than just a cameo in this one; he brought innocence to the part. I've only seen two of his movies. One I greatly enjoyed (The Sixth Sense) and one I did not (Unbreakable.) And though this one was slow-paced, the dialog really made the movie, as did the score. A great score alone can make a mediocre movie into a good one. I use as my single example of this Cutthroat Island in which John Debney's score managed to salvage from B-Movie status for me.

While I may choose to never watch the movie again, the recurring themes (which I so enjoy) were well placed and enhanced my enjoyment of the movie overall. Furthermore, I now have the rise and fall of emotions to accompany the score when I listen to it again.

Comments

[snapper521.livejournal.com]

Hmm, interesting.

Anyway -

I read it so I commented. Regardless of the actual worthwhile content of said comment. :-P

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

As always, your participation is greatly appreciated.

[snapper521.livejournal.com]

*smirk*

Glad to know that SOMEBODY appreciates me once in awhile... *laugh*

[danzigfried.livejournal.com]

You havent seen 'The Village' or 'Signs'? I havent seen 'Unbreakable' so I cant comment, but I thought 'Sixth Sense' along with the first two I mentioned were quite excellent, creative works.

Lovely twists in 'The Village'...

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

This is to keep the topic of this particular thread going, not a rebuttal of danzigfried's comment.

I abhor Signs. It was boring and no one could act in it except Mel Gibson, but the contrast was so stark that it almost made Mel look like he couldn't act either. As for Sixth Sense and The Village i have not seen either, but I have heard that the "twist" to The Village is rather lame. I truly loved Unbreakable. To me, it was a deep movie and I would not mind seeing it again.


While I may choose to never watch the movie again...
I know how you feel. I don't know if I'd really watch this movie again. It was a good watch, but I don't really see myself watching it again. It feels too structured and contrived.

I think that it was the score as well as Paul Giamatti's strength as an actor that made this movie watchable and enjoyable. Overall, I think that this movie worked in spite of rather then because of Shyamalan's best efforts. But there's too much fantasy in this movie for me to come back again and again and again. Alas, you now know one genre that I have very little patience for.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

I think that it was the score as well as Paul Giamatti's strength as an actor that made this movie watchable and enjoyable.

Agreed.

However, I'm curious - I've seen The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. I thought the latter was perfectly formed edible portions of horseshit, but enjoyed the former. Concerning your glowing recommendation of Unbreakable I wonder if you'd despise The Sixth Sense? Just curious. Still, I was surprised by its twist where after all this time there would be no real surprises in it for you, greatly dismissing any real objectivity you might still have had so, nevermind.

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

still, we could follow through and perform this expirement.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

No, we couldn't. YOU KNOW HOW IT ENDS.

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

not exactly. I can't ever remember.

[galinda822.livejournal.com]

Just finished watching it myself. I totally agree with your take on Paul Giamattia and M. Night Shyamalan's performances. They were excellent! I've seen 'The Village' and 'Lady in the Water' and find that Bryce Dallas Howard brings an other worldly quality to her roles. Thank goodness she doesn't look too much like Opie! :)

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

I may have to break down and see The Village. I think I have it on DVD from a Tivo session with HBO...

[dreamkatch.livejournal.com]

You should definitely watch the entire movie. It's really...intriguing. Dan bought it for me the other day and I LOVE it! I agree that everyone was really well cast, I actually pointed that out on a number of occasions to Dan.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes - I did finally watch the whole thing and enjoyed it tremendously despite myself. Did Dan enjoy it do you know?

[irulan-amy.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the movie as well. Paul Giamatti, as always, was brilliant. He is an actor I would watch any movie that he was in. I didn't really know a lot about the movie before going into it, so it surprised me a bit that it leaned toward a comedy. :)

I highly recommend The Village and Signs. Especially if you are a Joaquim Phoenix fan.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

I have to tell you - I'm a unix administrator, and the homophone in this particular avatar always gives me the heebee-jeebees. I'm sure it wouldn't if I were in another line of work!

I did enjoy the humorous moments in the film (and thought it was well constructed) but I didn't feel it was anything nearing a comedy?

Perhaps it was Paul Giamatti - just wanting to laugh when he was onscreen based on his other roles? I know I have a tendency toward that when they woefully miscast (not Michael Keaton as Batman for example, I thought he was fantastic) a funny-guy in a serious role. Dunno!