It was 2006. M. Night Shyamalan was the "next Spielberg." Then he made a movie about a narf living in a swimming pool. Critics didn't just dislike Lady in the Water; they actively revolted against it. It felt like the entire industry decided, all at once, that the wunderkind behind The Sixth Sense had finally lost his mind. But honestly? If you look at it today, away from the mid-2000s snark and the infamous Disney-breakup drama, it’s a weirdly beautiful, deeply sincere bedtime story that probably deserves a second chance.
Most people remember the movie for the controversy. It wasn't just a film; it was a public fallout. Shyamalan left Disney for Warner Bros. after executive Nina Jacobson reportedly gave him notes he didn't like. This led to the book The Man Who Heard Voices by Michael Bamberger, which chronicled the production and made Shyamalan look, well, a bit intense. People went into the theater wanting to hate it. And when they saw Shyamalan cast himself as a visionary writer whose work would literally change the world? The knives came out.
The Mythology of the Narf Explained (Simply)
The plot is basically a fairy tale dropped into a dreary Philadelphia apartment complex called The Cove. Paul Giamatti plays Cleveland Heep, a superintendent with a heavy stutter and a tragic past. He finds a woman named Story (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) in the pool. She’s not human. She’s a "narf" from the "Blue World."
Here is the thing: the movie operates on "bedtime story logic." If you try to apply hard sci-fi rules or gritty realism to Lady in the Water, it falls apart immediately. You have to accept that there are grass-covered wolves called Scrunt and monkey-like creatures called Tartutic that haunt the trees.
Story is on a mission to find a "Vessel"—a human whose ideas will spark a global movement. It’s meta. It’s self-indulgent. But it’s also remarkably earnest. In a world of cynical blockbusters, there is something kind of refreshing about a director who isn't afraid to look silly while trying to say something about purpose.
The Characters and Their Roles
The movie uses a "Guild" system. For Story to return home to the Great Eatlon (a giant eagle), Cleveland has to assemble a team of residents.
- The Guardian: Protects the narf.
- The Symbolist: Interprets signs, often found on cereal boxes.
- The Guild: A group of people who provide support without realizing their significance.
- The Healer: Someone with a specific touch.
Cleveland spends the whole movie trying to figure out who fits which role. It’s a puzzle. He thinks he knows who they are, but he’s wrong. This is where the film actually gets clever. It plays with the idea of how we perceive our neighbors. The guy who only lifts weights with one arm? The sisters who always seem to be together? They all have a part to play in this cosmic drama.
Why the Critics Went Nuclear
You can't talk about Lady in the Water without talking about Bob Balaban’s character, Harry Farber. Farber is a film critic. He’s arrogant, dismissive, and convinced he knows exactly how every story ends because he’s seen it all before.
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Shyamalan didn't just include a critic; he killed him off in a pretty gruesome way.
Critics felt attacked. They saw it as a petty jab at the people who had dared to give The Village bad reviews. When Farber stands in the rain, narrating his own death while a Scrunt hunts him, it’s either the funniest thing ever filmed or the most arrogant. Most reviewers at the time chose the latter.
But look at it now. Farber is a trope. He represents the death of imagination. He represents the part of us that refuses to be surprised because we’re too busy being "smart." By killing the critic, Cleveland and his friends are able to actually believe in the impossible. It’s a literal removal of cynicism from the narrative.
The Technical Brilliance We Ignored
Lost in the "Night is a narcissist" chatter was the fact that this movie looks and sounds incredible. This was the first time Shyamalan worked with legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Doyle is the guy behind the lush, neon-soaked visuals of In the Mood for Love.
In Lady in the Water, the water doesn't just look like pool water. It looks like liquid sapphire. The shadows in the hallways of The Cove feel heavy and textured.
Then there’s the James Newton Howard score.
If you listen to the track "The Great Eatlon," it’s hard not to feel something. It’s grand, orchestral, and deeply moving. Even the harshest detractors usually admit the music is a masterpiece. It carries the emotional weight that the dialogue sometimes fumbles. Howard’s work here is arguably one of the best film scores of the 2000s.
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Addressing the "Vessel" Controversy
Let's be real: casting yourself as the writer who saves the world is a bold move. Shyamalan plays Vick Ran, a man writing a book called The Cookbook. Story tells him that his book will inspire a future leader who will change the world, though Vick himself will be assassinated because of it.
It’s easy to see why people cringed. It looks like a massive ego trip.
However, if you watch the performance, Vick is terrified. He isn't some hero strutting around. He’s a guy living with his sister, wondering if his words actually matter. In the context of the film, it’s about the burden of creativity. It’s about the fear that your best work might cost you everything.
Is it still a bit much? Yeah.
But it’s also incredibly vulnerable. Shyamalan was putting his biggest fear on screen: that he had something to say, but the world would kill him for it. Given the critical reception, he wasn't exactly wrong.
A Story About Grief, Not Just Monsters
The heart of the film isn't the narf. It’s Paul Giamatti.
Cleveland Heep is a broken man. We eventually find out his family was murdered while he was at work. He moved to this apartment complex to disappear. He stutters because he can’t find the words for his pain.
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When he interacts with Story, he’s not just trying to save a mermaid. He’s trying to see if the world has any magic left. If a narf can exist, then maybe his life isn't just a series of random, cruel tragedies.
There’s a scene where Cleveland has to "confess" to Story to heal her. He weeps, apologizing to his dead children. It’s a powerhouse performance. Giamatti acts like he’s in a Shakespearean tragedy, even though he’s talking to a woman in a raincoat hiding in a shower. That commitment is what keeps the movie grounded. Without Giamatti, the whole thing would float away into nonsense.
How to Watch It Today
If you’re going to revisit Lady in the Water, you have to change your headspace.
- Forget the "Twist": This isn't The Sixth Sense. There is no massive "gotcha" moment at the end. The plot is linear. The surprises come from character reveals, not reality-bending shocks.
- Think Like a Child: Remember how you felt when someone read you a story and you didn't care if the physics made sense? That’s the "vibe" here.
- Watch the Background: The Cove is full of small, weird details. Pay attention to the way the residents interact. It’s a movie about community.
The film was a financial flop, grossing about $72 million against a $70 million budget (not counting marketing). It nearly ended Shyamalan’s career. He followed it up with The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth—a run of films that many consider his "dark ages."
But since his comeback with The Visit and Split, audiences have been more willing to look back at his experimental phase. Lady in the Water is the ultimate experimental film. It’s a $70 million indie movie. It’s a director taking a massive swing at a personal mythology.
Actionable Insights for Cinephiles
If you want to dive deeper into why this movie failed then and might work now, here is what you should do:
- Listen to the Score First: Before re-watching, listen to the James Newton Howard soundtrack on Spotify or YouTube. It sets the emotional tone and helps you understand the "language" of the film.
- Read the Backstory: Check out The Man Who Heard Voices by Michael Bamberger. It gives you the context of the production, though take it with a grain of salt as it’s very pro-Shyamalan.
- Compare to "Knock at the Cabin": Look at how Shyamalan’s later work deals with faith and "impossible" rules. You’ll see the DNA of the narf everywhere.
- Check the Visuals: Look for Christopher Doyle's use of reflection and water. The movie uses glass and mirrors in ways that emphasize the "two worlds" theme.
Whether you love it or hate it, Lady in the Water is undeniably the work of an auteur. It’s not a movie made by a committee. It’s one man’s specific, weird, flawed vision. In a landscape of sanitized, predictable franchise films, that alone makes it worth a look. It’s a reminder that movies can be strange. They can be personal. They can even be a little bit embarrassing. And sometimes, those are the stories that stick with us the longest.
Next time you see it on a streaming service, don't skip it. Watch it for Giamatti’s eyes. Watch it for the blue light on the water. Just let yourself believe in the narf for two hours. You might be surprised at how much you actually like it.