Lady in the Water: M. Night's NOT All Wet

I'm an M. Night fan. I really liked SIXTH SENSE. I enjoyed the ride of THE VILLAGE, and I thought UNBREAKABLE was brilliant.

I'm having a hard time understanding why the critics are coming after M. so hard with LADY IN THE WATER. Surely it's not just because the film includes a clueless film critic. (No, it's not and don't call me Shirley!)

The characters in LADY aren't too far removed from the characters of SIGNS. They're caught up in a situation that has important repercussions for the entire world. The genesis of that situation overlaps with their mundane little world and creates an extraordinary scenario of incredible things happening to ordinary people.

A couple of the supporting roles may be slightly miscast, but when Paul Giamatti's character is finally called upon to release himself to his destiny, the result is a moment of sheer vulnerability that is both heroic and moving.

It seems to me that the critics who are trashing this film are unable to separate the man from the movie. They've decided M. Night's personal bedtime story is pretentious, and they seem to be responding by striking out with a pretentiousness of their own.

I saw a story about a writer who was inspired to fulfill his destiny in a world where the critics are often very wrong.

In fact, this time they're all wet.

LADY gets 3 hands out of 4.