by Sun Meilan

Created on: May 26, 2009

Cleveland Heep is the superintendent of an apartment building. He works hard to try to keep the residents happy and to hide the fact that he has a very sad past, from which he is seemingly unable to recover. He realises that someone has been swimming in the residents' pool at night, which is out of hours, and so tries to put a stop to it; but manages to slip and hit his head. When he comes to, he realises that he has been rescued by the night swimmer - a beautiful young girl, called Story, who is a character from a bedtime story trying to find her way back home. Unfortunately, her enemies are unwilling to let her leave Cleveland's world. Cleveland is determined to help her, and slowly ropes in the other residents to help. But can Story return to her own life? Or is she trapped in an unhappy existence in the modern world?

Directed and written by M Night Shyamalan, many film lovers were looking forward to the release of Lady in the Water in 2006, hoping that it would herald a return to form for the director. Ultimately, many were disappointed by what appears to be a fairy tale for adults, with a little bit of supernatural happenings thrown in for good measure. Having read so many negative reviews, I did not have high expectations for this film; perhaps for that reason, I didn't think it was as bad as many had made out. One thing is clear - this is a very odd film that the majority of people will either love or hate.

Paul Giamatti plays Cleveland Heep and is excellent in the role. Heep is a shy, retiring man with a painful stutter; he desperately wants people to like him and be happy with the job that he does, and so is frequently disappointed when he doesn't meet their expectations. I immediately felt sympathy for him and thought that Giamatti was completely convincing in the role. There is a depth to the character that is touching without being overly sentimental and I thought it was great. I can imagine, however, that some would find him annoying. It probably depends on expectations; Heep is very far from being a conventional hero and if that is what you are looking for, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, he is a realistic character, and if that is your preference, then Giamatti is fantastic in the role.

Bryce Dallas Howard plays Story. Visually, she is compelling. Very pale with ginger hair, she is almost ethereal, and it is easy to believe that she is a mythical creature. I'm not sure how much she actually acts though. She spends most of the

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