Night Moves

Finally got to watch “Lady in the Water” today, and what struck me about the film was how uncharacteristic it was of an M. Night Shyamalan film.

I’ve watched all this films after his first successful outing, “The Sixth Sense.” That film was very memorable for me because it was the first time someone threatened me with bodily harm.

Here’s the story. My colleagues and I were at Robinson’s Place Ermita watching the film. Mid-way into the film, after all the screaming and giggling, I had an epiphany. An epiphany so great, I had to blurt it out:

“Oh my gosh! Bruce Willis is dead! That’s why the kid can see him!”

At that point, all my colleagues gave me dagger looks and shouted: “SSSHHHHHH!” And from behind our row, someone said: “Sisipain ko ‘to. Wala nang suspense.”

Needless to say, I escaped from the clutches of the aggressor.

“Unbreakable” was a big let down. It was the “sophomore curse”, and threatened to make M. Night a “one hit wonder.” He tried to put in a bit more star power in “Signs” by signing up Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. That, too, proved to be a big disappointment.

Then came “The Village” which all my friends hated, but surprisingly, the film grew on me. Plus, it was the only M. Night film that I couldn’t guess the ending. The twist was a genuine surprise.

With “Lady in the Water”, M. Night has turned in his old bag of tricks for presented a well written, well paced and well thought of film. And of course, it helped that it was a story centered on a legend, which is always a big plus in my book.

It was introduced as a bedtime story, and indeed, it had all the elements of one. Mythical creatures interacting with humans, ordinary people with unusual powers, gods and monsters with the ability to transform – they were all there. The great thing about this film is that not one character is wasted. Although there were a lot of people living in “The Cove,” each one was given an important role, and in the end, they were all relevant to the story.

Another interesting point in the film is that M. Night now plays a major role as opposed to his first 4 films where he only made cameos. His role here was pivotal – the vessel that the Narf must awaken. And I must say, he has the chops for acting. He should do a Mel Gibson and star in a film that he himself directed. (Nope, I wasn’t referring to the drunk-driving-Jew-bashing-episode.)

Bryce Dallas Howard was enchanting as the Narf. She had the childlike-innocence look down pat. She reminded me of The Little Mermaid’s Ariel, especially when I saw her little collection of “human things.”

But the big bonus was seeing Sarita Choudry on the big screen again. Last I saw her was in Mira Nair’s “Mississippi Masala” way back in college. And her performance was worth the wait.

The usual suspense and shocking moments were there. I’ve never been shocked by water sprinklers prior to this film. And the grassy dog really seemed ominous. But on the whole, this film was really a feel-good fantasy. It was a story about faith, hope, believing in others and believing in one’s self.

Throughout the film, I felt like a child being read a bedtime story by my Grandma. And in that respect, the film did live up to its promise. This really was a bedtime story by M. Night Shyamalan. And like most bedtime stories, I wouldn’t mind hearing this over and over and over again.

While “Lady in the Water” didn’t surprise me as much, this film was able to do something that M. Night’s first 4 films: It moved me.