M. Night Shyamalan makes the kind of movies where a character can appear in a swimming pool, introduce herself as a "narf" named "Story" and no one questions it. I don't have a problem with that, per se, but I have to ask: what is it with this guy and water?? First, it's kryptonite to Bruce Willis' reluctant hero in the missed opportunity that was "Unbreakable", then it's acid to the ill-informed aliens in the misfire that was "Signs". So I suppose "The Lady in the Water" might be called the latest in M. Night Shyamalan's "Water Series".

"Lady" had been billed as "a fairy tale from M. Night Shyamalan". And that is certainly the atmosphere the writer-director attempts to create. The film is filled with supernatural characters, cryptic signs and portentous stories. Of course, most of Mr. Shyamalan's films are. In this case, "Lady" takes place entirely in a Philadelphia building complex called The Cove. Of course, in Mr. Shyamalan's movies, every name has some significance. The lead character is a man with the unlikely moniker of Cleveland Heep. Cleveland is The Cove's dutiful superintendent. One night, after he discovers a woman (the aforementioned Story) swimming in the pool after hours, Cleveland becomes embroiled in a centuries-old myth that, it quickly becomes clear, is all too real.

For a time, as the innocent Story sits in the shower and longs to return to "the blue world", it's hard to get "Splash" out of your head. Soon it becomes evident that everyone in The Cove has a purpose. All the characters have a setup and payoff: the randy young club chick (Cindy Cheung), the muscle-bound Reggie (Freddy Rodríguez), the odd Mr. Leeds (Bill Irwin), even talented-writer Vick (played by none other than Mr. Shyamalan himself, who proves to be a timid but watchable actor).

Paul Giamatti is a natural to play a stuttering man named Cleveland Heep and he nearly saves the film on his performance alone. Ms. Howard does an admirable job as Story, but she's really more of a plot device than a character. Bob Balaban has the unenviable role of a film critic - no doubt Mr. Shyamalan's none-too-veiled reaction to reviews such as this one.

I was pleased that Mr. Shyamalan dispensed with the need for the last minute twist which has plagued his recent films. Ironically however, without some kind of sleight-of-hand "Lady" feels oddly pointless. Mr. Shyamalan is a talented filmmaker with a gift for atmosphere, but he struggles to tell an interesting story that doesn't feel (a) pretentious or (b) like some kind of cheat. "Lady" is probably Mr. Shyamalan's most straight-forward film. But this "Water" is a bit too shallow.