Story

Workwise, there's little or nothing of interest to be said for yesterday. I signed all the signature sheets for Alabaster, which took me about two hours. I tweaked the Daughter of Hounds CEM a little more, though there is still more tweaking to be done. I think it's time to accept that this book, like all books, will never be perfect. Monday, it has to go back into the mail. Anyway, yes, little or nothing of interest.

Late in the afternoon, Spooky and I fled the house, braving the heat and poisonous, hazy air to see M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water. And having seen it, I remain a great and unapologetic admirer of Mr. Shyamalan's work. This is simply a beautiful film. It is, for me, a brilliant examination of the triumph of the weird over metaphor, or of story over the banal crush of "reality." I know which way the critical wind is blowing with regards to Lady in the Water, and I'm not surprised. As soon as the credits were done, I said to Spooky, "The film's going to be trounced." And I see that I'm right. In this lingering Age of Irony, Shyamalan continues to speak far too earnestly. For these times, he speaks too directly and with too little guile or sarcasm. And this is one reason why I adore and applaud him. There is much else to praise in this film, if I were to turn to specifics. Bryce Dallas Howard, for instance, whose performance so marvelously brings Story to life (in more ways than one). And Paul Giamatti, for another instance, who, I think, deserves an Oscar nod. Lady in the Water relies far less on climactic turnabout and sleight of hand than has Shyamalan's earlier films. This is simply a child's bedtime story allowed to walk about in the "real world," where seemingly mundane things are not so free from wonder as the grind and snarl of day-to-day existence might lead us to believe. I loved it, through and through, and I wish it were being better received.

Story

Day 76 (2025 A.D.)

Day 73 (2025 A.D.)

Day 71 (2025 A.D.)