Lady in the Water

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 a Philadelphia maintenance man who discovers a young woman in the swimming pool of his apartment complex. 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, causing large losses.

Plot

One evening, Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti), who became a handyman at 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 lupine that lies preternaturally flat.