Lady in the Water | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | M. Night Shyamalan |
Produced by |
Sam Mercer M. Night Shyamalan |
Written by | M. Night Shyamalan |
Starring |
Paul Giamatti Bryce Dallas Howard Bob Balaban Jeffrey Wright Sarita Choudhury Cindy Cheung M. Night Shyamalan Freddy Rodriguez Bill Irwin Jared Harris |
Narrated by | David Ogden Stiers |
Music by | James Newton Howard |
Cinematography | Christopher Doyle |
Edited by | Barbara Tulliver |
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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109 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $70 million |
Box office | $72.8 million |
Lady in the Water | ||||
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Film score by James Newton Howard | ||||
Released | July 18, 2006 | |||
Label | Decca | |||
Producer |
Amanda Ghost Tom Herbers Oliver Leiber |
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James Newton Howard chronology | ||||
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AllMusic | |
Filmtracks | |
SoundtrackNet |
Lady in the Water is a 2006 American fantasy thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard. The film's plot concerns the superintendent of a Philadelphia apartment complex who discovers a young woman in the swimming pool. Gradually, he and his neighbors learn that she is a water nymph whose life is in danger from a vicious, wolf-like, mystical creature that tries to keep her from returning to her watery "blue world".
This is Shyamalan's first movie in which he has played a significant role as one of the supporting actors. The film received a somewhat polarized response from critics; most reviews were unfavorable, with criticism revolving around the film's lack of consistency and characterization. The film was also a financial disappointment grossing merely $72 million against a $70 million production budget.
One evening, Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti), who became the super of a Philadelphia apartment complex after his family was murdered, discovers Story (Bryce Dallas Howard), a naiad-like character (called a Narf) from the Blue World, in his building's pool, immediately rescuing her from an attack by a "Scrunt", a grass-covered wolf-like creature that lies flat.
Story is here to find a specific writer whose book will better humanity's future. After questioning residents Farber (Bob Balaban), Bell (Mary Beth Hurt), Dury (Jeffrey Wright), and five nameless smokers, Heep discovers the author, Vick Ran (M. Night Shyamalan), who is writing The Cookbook, containing views and ideas so significant they will inspire a future President, a great Midwestern orator, to greatly change the world for the better. Ran meeting Story eliminates his fear and sharpens his inner voice, but he learns he will be assassinated because of the controversial nature of his ideas.