Lady in the Water

** Stars

It had to end sometime.

Since M. Night Shyamalan's first hit with The Sixth Sense back in 1999, he has consistently produced more films that were just as worthy (Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village). Sadly, seven years later, Shyamalan has crafted his first failure.

Shyamalan is however one of a limited group filmmakers who can create such masterful imagination on screen. The concept is pure brilliance. Unfortunately, the execution here is disappointing.

Now I'm only saying this because maybe I expected more from him because I'm such a huge fan. Maybe Shyamalan just wanted to make a simple bedtime story. And if that's the case and you take it that way, you might like this movie.

The story takes place at The Cove, an apartment complex in the middle of Pennsylvania (the entire film is shot here) where Cleveland Heep, the building manager, rescues a mysterious young woman named Story. She is a narf, which from I've heard is a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the treacherous journey from our world back to hers. Cleveland and his fellow tenants start to realize that they are also characters in this bedtime story. For some reason, Story has this majestic power that will help one clear its mind and allow him or herself to discover their purpose. According to Story, "All humans have a purpose." And so does this film. It just doesn't show it.

The movie barely stays afloat because of Paul Giamatti, who is never worse than excellent. He is one of America's best actors. I hope that Shyamalan will get back in the winners circle with his next film.