i love M Night and have stuck by all his other films until i got the overall meaning and references throughout. Yet Lady is the one which i have never liked and simply dont understand.
i know this was a bedtime story for his kids or sumthin so he decided to make a film of it but is that all there is to it? is there a wider perspective and a point to it?
please help me out and convince me that this is as good as Shyamalan's others.
I really liked this movie. I felt Lady in the Water was about human suffering, and the ability to overcome the suffering and begin to heal. Idk just the whole story about Cleveland's family being killed..and how he was hiding from the world after it..and when Story came she helped him heal and move on..I remember he said "you saved me" or something like that. My friends couldnt figure out why I was crying (yes, I am pathetic) both times I saw this movie and I think it was just because Story helped Cleveland heal when he went through hard times. Idk thats what i just took from it. Its a nice story if you dig deeper.
XF2 7.25.08
Continuing with intothesun13's point-
It was also about how wherever you look, there is something to be found. Extraordinary in the mundane. (I forget who says it) Someone says in the movie that these people are all unknowingly drawn to this vessel (The Cove) for one purpose-to help and save Story.
Cleveland-The Healer. Originally they all thought the old woman was the Healer because the Healer is supposed to attract animals (ie. the butterfly that landed in her hand) but he was the one who brought the butterfly to her. He saves Story from the poisonous scratches.
Reggie-The Guardian. Is constantly working one side of his body more than the other. The Guardian is supposed to be half human half [insert word: superhuman, godlike, etc.] He is the only one who can beat the Scrunt, and therefore provides her a safe passage to home.
Joey-The Interpreter. Sees hidden messages in all things no one else can. He knows what is to come for Story.
The Seven Sisters-The Guild. Helpers of Story going home.
Mr. Bubchik-The Man Who Has No Secrets. Not really important, but he is one of the 2 required witnesses.
Mr. Leeds-Whose Opinion is Highly Respected. Again, not extremely important, but is second witness.
Vick (M. Night!)-Not really part of the guild, but he is the man Story is looking for. She describes him as the man whose words (writing) are very important, and that one day he will die because of this book he is writing will change the world (entitled The Cookbook) and a boy who grew up reading his book will go on to become very important.
I loved watching this movie for the first time, it's one of those "ohhhhhh" moments. Where everything clicks.
AGATB~O
Bry for Fee
President of TOBAOF
Get out here! Panda JERK!
>I loved watching this movie for the first time, it's one of those "ohhhhhh" moments. Where everything clicks.
Yea I agree. All of his movies go full circle, everything clicks and makes sense in the end.(except the Happening..which wasnt the best thing I have ever seen)
XF2 7.25.08
Exactly. I haven't seen the Happening, but I'd really like to. But I think I'm going to have to wait until ot comes out on DVD.
AGATB~O
Bry for Fee
President of TOBAOF
Get out here! Panda JERK!
Good plan. Watch out for the dialouge in the movie..its enough for you to want to consider suicide. lol
XF2 7.25.08
Why, because it's written so badly or it's depressing?
AGATB~O
Bry for Fee
President of TOBAOF
Get out here! Panda JERK!
Its so badly written. Its a good concept..just the dialouge is dumb and unbelieveable. And this is coming from a person who loves all his movies.
XF2 7.25.08
(no haters plz) lol. It lasted 4 replies before the hate came. I know you're hating on another movie, but the request wasn't specific.
You obviously didn't get where M. was going with The Happening. I believe the bad dialogue was done on purpose, paying homage to old B-movies.. Pay attention to all the similarities. Very well done.
Everything he's done has been amazing (IMO), even if you don't understand what he's going for.
[deleted]
I fail to be convinced by the notion that if you do something bad on purpose, it somehow makes you clever and talented. Raiders of the Lost Ark was also clearly paying homage to old B-movies, but was actually well-written. It's pretty bad when you have to defend a film by insisting that it was designed to be terrible, thus exculpating the author from his shortcomings.
-There is no such word as "alot."
It's Good "Bad Writing" because of the meaning of it related to the scene. As with ALL of Nights work, The Happening is full of allegorical meaning. Subtext is all over the place. As far as the Raiders comparison, when Spielberg and Lucas say they were influenced by the Republic Films, it's more the Serials that were played out in Chapters and left each film in a bit of Cliffhanger (Star Wars used that specifically.) They weren't going for B-Movie Production Values and/or Set Design, Generic Acting etc... The Happening was going 100% B-Movie. Emotions are overly dramatic, lines are simple and cheesy and even more so, the fact that people were just killing themselves is taking it even further. Totally different when you talk about the scope of the films.
share[deleted]
What I love most about M. Night's movies is he puts ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and then focuses on the ordinary. It's a lot like my favorite author Orson Scott Card in complex simplicity.
I've found that most people who absolutely loved The Sixth Sense think all his subsequent movies were worse. I thought the Sixth Sense was pretty good, but I felt wowed by others like Signs, The Village, and Lady In the Water. A lot of people react negatively to simplicity. I can't blame them. But a flower in my backyard is still beautiful to me even after I've been across this Earth.
If you feel like you "didn't get it" I don't believe it. It was that simple. It was the beauty of loving your neighbor. This man, all alone in his mind has been good and kind. He has brought good people together, and in this, greatness happens. A simple idea. That he is not alone. That he is loved, and that he loves. It took something ridiculous and fantastic to make him realize this. To pull him out of his own deathly mourning.
I thought it was so beautiful I couldn't imagine any better. But I read all these people's comments that claim it was horrible, and to me, the simple idea of love and friendship was expressed here. There was no bad acting. There was no cheesy dialogue. Just very straight forward, this is life deal with it. If people find that horrible it makes me feel bad for them. Why so much negativity? If this movie were as bad as they say, wouldn't at least the theme of the film soften them enough to laugh? Instead it is vile distaste I read. And I wonder. Did they like the Sixth Sense because of the gorey death? Did they enjoy Signs because of the perverse joy of humans planning to die in a cellar? Where do they derive their entertainment? I know I'm a soft sell for goodness. But a good story is a good story. I've seen thousands of movies. I go to every premiere I can. I looove film. No other real hobbies to speak of. This is probably one of 3 movies I've ever watched in my life that brought a tear to my eye. One other was Schindler's List.
I don't think it was one of the best movies ever made, but when I left the theater I felt better as a human. Not a lot of movies aim for that. Not a lot of movies want you to be a better person, or wish you well, or think to have an actual effect on you. This one did for me. If it did not for you, that's fine, nothing lost, just another movie.
Just want to say that there are some beautiful insightful posts in this thread.
Thank you promontorium, cocunut_paradis167 and intothesun13.
You really captured the beautiful feeling that this movie brought to me.
loved your answer also i loved this movie.
shareBut a flower in my backyard is still beautiful to me even after I've been across this Earth.
Wow, great post! I agree.
"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬
Great post. Agreed on every point. It's posts like this that make me so upset about the upcoming elimination of the message boards.
shareWhat is so great about M Night Shyamalan is the depth to his stories. Every time you watch one of his movies, you can come away appreciating something else about it. All the above replies are good, but there is also more. One of the main points is the power of storytelling. A few thoughts to go along with that are how we should overcome our critics (one of my favorite seens ever to see a director take such a bold shot at movie critics), how we should be more childlike, and how we need faith. Faith is so key in this movie. I know there is more to get, but I can't think right now.
A quick word on The Happening. It was exactly what he promised, nothing more, nothing less. There are some subtle deeper messages (I won't say what because I don't want to give away the end) and one not so subtle message, but, unfortunately, this was his first movie that was to be taken exactly as you see it. If you let the movie take you for a ride, you will love it. It is very similar to Hitchcock's The Birds. You will probably know if you will like the movie after the opening credit sequence, which sets the tone for the movie and is absolutely beautiful.
This movie is one of two movies ever to make me tear up. I'm a movie fan, a 15 year old boy who's a freshman in highschool... and this is the only movie that has ever made me cry. I thought "Damn, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" will probably be the only movie well crafted enough to bring tears to my eyes. But with this movie, I wept. I wept for Cleveland, because of the power of the writing, the power of the message, and the power of the acting. This is simply the greatest movie of all time. And no, I'm not a "Shyamalaniac". I hate Sixth Sense and Signs, I like The Village and Unbreakable, and haven't seen The Happening. I refrain, this movie made me weep. A 13 year old boy (at the time of this movie's theater run) + weeping = some very exceptional moviemaking. This movie has made me aspire to one day become as moving and touching a film director as M. Night Shyamalan.
shareTo understand this movie, it's as simple to me as looking at The Cove as a metaphor for a person's brain (which the swimming pool even looks similar to). Which isn't far-fetched considering coves actually do kind of look like the silhouettes of a person's head.
Next, think of every single character in the film as a metaphor for the different aspects of the human psyche, with Story being a creation of the mind (i.e. the swimming pool/brain), and the other character's being cultivators and protector's of that "Story".
I don't want to give away too much on how each person's specific role affects the whole story, but give it another gander, and you might have a new perspective.
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Cynicism is far too easy.
[deleted]
I always found the pool to be shaped like a tear drop (I think someone pointed this out to me). I do like your idea mechanicalchrist_000.
For me, the movie is about self-discovery and faith (much like Shyamalan's body of work spends time on) at a visceral level. The tenants of the building are all either lost or searching for a meaning in their life; particularly Cleveland, with his family being taken away from him, and Vick and his struggle to write "The Cookbook".
Story comes to meet the vessel; the person that is chosen for her to inspire and awaken them, in particular, Vick and writing his book. This plays to the morale of the bedtime story as Young-Soon points out:
Cleveland asks her after his recovery of the kii in the pool and asks her as she tells her more of the bedtime story: "Will she know she is a Madame Narf?"
She replies: "No, that is the morale of the bedtime story. No one is ever told who they are".
For the morale is: You have a purpose in your life, and you have to find it. A lot of this is expresses through the search for the keepers in the bedtime story (i.e, Guardian, Healer,etc...) And it is done so beautifully.
I remember when I watched this with my father, as we came to an early matinee, thinking the theater would be packed. We figured there were only 4 other people there cause it was an early show. We were certain coming out of it that it was going to be a major hit for Shyamalan. Boy, was I ever wrong. In turn, though, we got a lot out of this movie to say the least. It's a wonder I haven't worn out my DVD copy yet.
Note, for the record I did like The Happening for those of you who didn't. For me, it's fun to see something that doesn't have "2" in the title. (Not that I hate sequels, but you get my point).
I realize I'm responding to an ancient thread, but Kudos to mechanicalchrist and universalkid1000 for their insightful interpretations of this underrated flick.
shareI just have to say that, I love you man. I know you will never read this message, posted 4 years later. But you are the only person I have ever seen that managed to realize the similarities between The Happening and The Birds. Thank you for wonderful words and realization, I get so mad at people who say his movies suck. They just want their films easily laid out for them. If there is depth in a film, there will be stupid haters to hate it. Always.
shareI also noticed that while Cleveland is healing Story (when he realizes he's the healer), he's also healing himself (he bursts into tears and talks about how he misses his family). He's getting some closure and a feeling of redemption by helping Story. That's how she saved his life (as he says to her in the end).
shareI agree with almost everyone here, its a story that wants us to realize how important we are, even to just one person. It dosent matter if you dont believe, cleveland does, and its all he has left. To me the whole movie is flowing over with emotion, its in almost every scene. Its very sad that in this day and age we are so superficial that we cant stop and see when an idea wants to quietly pull at you and say "you are extrodinary". The scene that always brings a tear to my eye is when the author is being told his fate. You can tell that his sister thinks little of this work, but the simple words from story assures him that this work (even after death) will bring about good in the world.
sharei understood it perfectly... A director trying hard to convince the viewers that there is something special going on but in reality he failed hard... really hard!
shareWhy do you feel the need to be convinced that this film is good? Do you not trust your own opinion?
If you liked his other films, then stick with those and watch for his upcoming ones. But to ask for help with liking something you obviously didn't seems an irrational need to like the director regardless of what he's done. It's possible for anyone to fail, and M. Night isn't a god-even though he acts like he thinks he is one. I don't see any hidden, deeper meaning.
And it's quite possible to understand something completely and still not like it. Even if you get a convincing explanation of the "point," it won't mean anything if the film doesn't register emotionally. That's something no one else can provide.
-There is no such word as "alot."
thanks a lot for the replies that was exactly what i was looking for.
i know all of shyamalans films are flawed and evidently this is one of the more flawed ones. the comment about "ordinary people in extra ordinary situations then focusing on the ordinary" is spot on. he backs up all of his arguments with fact, reducing the suspension of disbelief. this enables him to make his audience believe absolutely anything, making monsters attacking villages or plants killing everyone seem perfectly reasonable.
i think i have a lot more respect for this film now that i have some insight to what its really about but i still think its by far my least favourite shyamalawn film.
sorry to the above poster, what i really was looking for is to understand the film even though i dislike it. im doing film studies next year in school and shyamalan is one of the directors we cover.
thanks for all of your replies :)
Why do you feel the need to be convinced that this film is good? Do you not trust your own opinion?
If you liked his other films, then stick with those and watch for his upcoming ones. But to ask for help with liking something you obviously didn't seems an irrational need to like the director regardless of what he's done. It's possible for anyone to fail, and M. Night isn't a god-even though he acts like he thinks he is one. I don't see any hidden, deeper meaning.
And it's quite possible to understand something completely and still not like it. Even if you get a convincing explanation of the "point," it won't mean anything if the film doesn't register emotionally. That's something no one else can provide.
EXCELLENT POST!!! And sums it up just right !!!
I really can't say what I liked about it. I saw it with my two daughters, and they've called it the "mermaid who fights the big bad wolf" movie. They are young, under the age of 7.
I know what you're thinking- "You took your kids to an M. Night?! WTF, are you batsh*t insane?!"
Well, I screened it first and I made the decision that it was not too spooky for them to watch it. Plus they saw the poster and thought it was a mermaid film.
Technically a nymph, but they can't tell the difference (I think it helped that she was a red-head and was found on shore. You know, the "Ariel" connection?)
I have digressed, but at first I didn't like it that much, but then when my daughters saw it and were cheering on the "mermaid" and cringing at "the big bad wolf" and how he was defeated by "the magic monkeys," plus they knew the "strong man" was the hero (because he had muscles..er.. a muscled arm.)
I dunno, I guess I started seeing it for what is was- a fairy tale, and enjoyed it more. They watch it all the time (along with Hairspray) and is one of their favorites.
I guess you have to suspend belief, and see it through the eyes of a child. It was a movie about hope, and good in an unexpected place with people who escaped their shells to become more than what they thought they could ever be.
They took away from it, that it didn't matter who you were if you try, you can meet your potential and find strength in your fears. If that's not a good message to give to children, then I don't know what is.
So, I think most people didn't like it because it was a "Disney-esque" children's movie, disguised as an adult's suspense film. That's what I think. I just know I enjoyed it more after seeing it with my kids, than I did previously with friends.
Maybe we grew up to be too cynical, and that is what ruined the magic. If you just let it be a fairytale, then it's a wonderful film.
Peace.
I like this movie a lot when I saw it, and I must say no, there is not much to it. It is what it is at face value. If you didn't like it then you didn't like it.
It's not a typical M. Night movie, so I understand that some fan Boi's may be disappointed.
it took a second viewing for me to understand where the director was going.
Just look at the shape of the pool, and the reflections.
I especially enjoyed the part of the critic,
pertained to the fact that most people will not understand the film.
"This is where I turn to run. You will leap for me, I will shut the door, and you will land a fraction of a second too late. "
This is one of the most underrated and misunderstood films ever. I liked this film very much. Great imagination, fantasy and acting, specially Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jeffrey Wright. Bob Balaban did a good acting as a selfish critic. Also I mention the spectacular special effects mixing animatronic (the evil wolf Scrant), making up (the tartutic) and computerised (the giant eagle).
The world will look up and they' ll shout: Save us. And i' ll say: NO.
That's right, such a misunderstood film (I can't even count the times someone went "There is no twist!!! OMGWTFBBQ")
And to the second poster: it is perfectly normal to be crying - not pathetic at all, no matter what people may tell you!
-Goodnight, mother of six!
-Goodnight, father of two!
As a dude, i pretty much cry every time Giamatti says "Youre faces always reminded me of God."
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Cynicism is far too easy.
Why I LOVE this film so much. *Drum roll* might be a tad flowery. Heh XD...
-Music: Emotional, vivid and beautiful. (James Newton Howard's work never fails to win me over).
-Writing & Directing: I loved the words and lines M Night would come up with. "He's got this growth on his ass...don't tell him I told you." That line is very innocent and I could imagine my Mum saying that over the phone. I think M Night is a phenomenal director, I love Signs and I really like The Village (it was the music that made me love that film so much). But this film I think is gorgeous and lovely. :)
-Acting & Characterization: I wouldn't want to change/recast anyone in this film. I felt M Night wrote the characters FOR the actors. I loved the platonic relationship between Story and Cleveland. Bryce Dallas Howard and Paul Giamatti's chemistry to me was wonderful and believable. I loved both characters individually too. Bill Irwin who plays Mr Leeds just the line when he tells Cleveland: "Shut up...and try." His eyes and the way he said those simple words in such a strong way, I just cried. I felt every actor/actress on this film worked brilliantly, they slotted together and I loved the energy from every single one. :)
-The Monsters: I really like how the scrunt's fur was disguised in the grass (the grass WERE it's coat) and the fantasy aspect of the way it moved and charged towards Story. The artwork on the creatures was wonderful.
I guess I see this film as an interesting independent film, plus I love how artistic it is. Everything, the acting, the music, the sets, the writing, just moved me emotionally. I thought it was beautifully made.
-Romi. xxx
'Philip Henslowe: I don't know... it's a mystery. Shakespeare In Love.' I LOVE Geoffrey Rush! :)
pertained to the fact that most people will not understand the film.Regardless of what side of any issue you might be on, it's hard to ignore how so many people these days misuse the word "fact", and improperly use it in the place of "random opinion without the support of fact".
http://imalshen.deviantart.com/art/Lady-in-the-Water-Essay-101460888
That's my take on the film. :)
If you don’t stop burning my scarf you’re going to have to kill me!-Tom Baker, Doctor Who