Lady in the Water is underrated. I've seen The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, so here we are with Lady in the Water.

I actually enjoyed reading Michael Bamberger's behind-the-scenes book, The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale. The book uncovers much about the role of Christopher Doyle as cinematographer and the audition of Cindy Cheung.

The ending is the crucial part of any movie. And, since M. Night Shyamalan has established the ending as the high point of his films, I was particularly watching the final moments here. Disappointingly, Shyamalan delivers a few very weak, very easy to spot "twists" tied up in a Hollywood Happy Ending™.

I've nothing against happy endings but, with Shyamalan, I expect the ending, whatever type it may be, to have quite a punch. The rest of the movie has the quality we've come to expect from Shyamalan. Tight direction, angles and shots that not only look good but also become part of the storytelling, and a layered script all add up to a fun and very interesting ride. Unfortunately the ride runs out of gas rather than coming to a final destination.

Shyamalan takes a good stab at the fantasy genre here and doesn't waste any time establishing belief amongst the characters. They all quickly accept and then begin to act upon the proposition that Story is a real life fairy-tale creature, come to benefit them and mankind as a whole. Their belief seems too abrupt but it's clear that Shyamalan wanted to dive right into the story. I would have liked just a little more cynicism from the humans though. If he had set the story in the past their immediate acceptance may have been more plausible. But in current day Philadelphia? I just don't see that many folks accepting a fantasy being at face value.

The writing is a good bit more humorous than his past scripts. There are a good many chuckles and even a few laugh out loud moments. Giamatti is in a role tailor made for him and he carries it with no problems. Howard shows a suitable sense of wonder and innocence as Story. The rest of the cast, a fairly large group of characters, are solid as well. Shyamalan writes himself into his largest role to date and does quite well.

Overall I can't say it's a bad movie. The Shyamalan quality alone puts this above most of the competition. However, he has set himself a pretty high standard with his earlier films and this one falls short.

It is so very sad that in a day and age when Hollywood churns out films that critics claim as garbage, and it's the same old recycled, seen before trash that something like this isn't hailed by critics and top of the box office for fans. M. Night Shyamalan's brilliant tale is one of his best but the man has done some brilliant work up till now. It's not secret that Shyamalan seems to be an acquired taste. He has almost a cult following it seems of people that absolutely adore his brilliance. I say he has completely outdone himself with Lady In The Water. Not only has he created this brilliant story with an ensemble cast of mysterious and interesting characters but he created an entire fairy tale that this story bases itself around. This is completely unique and original inside and out and that is something to be proud of. On top of that it is so watchable, captivating and interesting. I sincerely hope that none of the bad reviews brings Shyamalan down because he has outdone himself this time and gave me an incredible experience at the theater.

Paul Giamatti takes the lead role as classically haunted and brilliantly melancholy Cleveland Heep. This is a typical Shyamalan character and one of his absolute best going straight up there with Bruce Willis' Dr. Malcolm Crowe, Samuel L. Jackson's Mr. Glass and Mel Gibson's Graham Hess, all absolutely classic characters in cinema and Giamatti's Heep belongs there 100%. Giamatti outdoes himself and gives another Oscar worthy performance in my opinion. Heep makes a great hero because he is not. He's the average guy, stuck in a rut, sad, and we know something has caused his melancholy but it unfolds slowly. He is given reason to come alive again with the discovery of a stranger who saves his life. Bryce Dallas Howard plays the mysterious Story. A water Fairy who must accomplish an important deed to the future of mankind and the small apartment complex is the link to this deed. I admit I wasn't crazy about Howard's performance in The Village but she fits this role perfectly. She is mysterious, disturbed, pale, and perfectly suited for this. She still wasn't my favorite character in the film but she does well in the role. One of the most fantastic elements of Lady In The Water is this incredible ensemble cast including none other than Shyamalan himself in an intriguing and important role. Jeffrey Wright, Bob Balaban, Sarita Choudhury, Cindy Cheung, Freddy Rodríguez, Bill Irwin, Mary Beth Hurt, and Noah Gray-Cabey all deserve mention as they play variations of important parts in the story. I must single out Cindy Cheung who is terrific as the punk rocker student who seems to be quite close to Heep. I think her boisterous "Goodbye Mr. Heep" will become a classic in my books. Also Bob Balaban as the rather sour movie critic Mr. Farber and if this was Shyamalan's dig at his rather harsh critics it was hilariously done!! Balaban's character is subtle but meets his end is a rather sarcastic and clever demise poking fun at the movie plot and critics in general. Shyamalan himself plays a very, very good role as the important Vick who has a bigger purpose in life that is dropped on him.

The film unravels at break neck speed and everything is discovered and unraveled and carefully dealt with all coming back to this fascinating and original fairy tale that Shyamalan has created. The creature stalking the Water fairy from the grass is terrifying and definitely makes the suspense first rate. One of the most amazing things about this film is that this mind binding, imaginative story all takes place in one tiny area. Never once does this film leave the apartment complex. For the most part the bulk of the film takes place at the pool side and yet you barely notice because Shyamalan makes the story so incredibly interesting. As far as I'm concerned if this wasn't already the case this film puts the nail in Shyamalan being one of the most talented writers and directors in Hollywood. He has such an incredibly unique style and I have loved his films since day one. Bravo for this one because it was amazing!! Everyone that loves something unique and suspenseful and interesting will love this film!! 10/10