Lady in the Water; A Writer's Film

I could feel the awkward silence when the credits rolled. The audience just didn't get it.

But I did.

I was saddened to hear today that Lady in the Water "tanked" (my husband's verbage) in the box office last weekend. Not surprised, of course. Just saddened.

Saturday night, Bo and I were feeling a little restless, trying to think of something to do that involved fodder for both our bellies and our brains. Fodder for our bellies is easy to find. The latter is sometimes more difficult. After spending a bit of time on our current reads, he working through What Color is Your Parachute, and I through Home Cheesemaking, he mentioned that Lady in the Water had been released. I stopped reading.

I entered into a bit of a struggle with myself. Did I want to go? Did I want to risk it this time? Could M. Night ever, ever, ever impress me as much as he did with Sixth Sense? Even though he probably lays awake every night trying to figure out how to top one of the very best films of all time?

M. Night first let me down with Unbreakable, the story of a seemingly average man who discovers that he's a superhero with a stereotypical nemesis. There was no surprise in it for me. I figured out the plot right away.

When he released Signs, I decided to give him another try. I was disappointed to find out that there was no reasonable explanation. There very simply were aliens out to get everyone and rip them to shreds.

I hesitated when it was time for the release of The Village. While I figured the plot out right away, I enjoyed the film much more than the previous, but, of course, not as much as Sixth Sense.

But Lady in the Water looked different. The trailers showed promise. There was intrigue. Suspense. And, more importantly than just about anything else, there was metaphor.

I'm a sucker for a good metaphor. Whether in a song, a story, a film or even a commercial, you toss a perfect metaphor at me, and you've got me, baby.

Bo had read some reviews about Lady. He turned up his nose a bit. He warned me that the critics didn't like it. "Critics. Harumph," I scoffed. The lyrics to Jason Harrod's Kicking Mule popped into my head.

Oh yes it's hard.
Oh yes it is,
When you've got critics criticizing every single thing you ever did.
And there's a pressure, baby, you gotta get away from
And there's a piece of freedom, you gotta get yourself some.

And with that, we were off.

Yeah, there was some silliness and hokiness to Lady. But, most importantly, there was The Metaphor! And The Metaphor kept me holding on.

So if you've been wondering about whether to trust M. Night again, I say give Lady in the Water a chance. Especially if you're a writer, or if you love a good story, whether it's an Ancient Text or a bedtime tale. And if you absolutely and completely loathe the critics, you must see this film.

I'm with you M. Night. You tossed out a wonderful metaphor, and I , for one, caught it with both hands. I still believe in you.