Every M. Night Shyamalan Movie Ranked Worst To Best

The Lady in the Water was the first dud of Shyamalan's career after his meteoric rise to Hollywood legend, in which he tries something new -- a mystical fantasy about a water nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) who wants to return home but can't -- but is submerged by his own self-indulgence.

And, look, all directors are indulgent in their own way (think Tarantino and all his most obvious habits, feet, f-bombs and all), but Shyamalan's messy fantasy-drama is so forced in its sentimentality and meta commentary about his own work that it never gets comfortable being what it's actually meant to be.

There's some highs, from Howard's quiet performance, its touching themes and its briefly colourful imagery and worldbuilding, but The Lady in the Water is the work of a filmmaker who really needed to take a step back and think again.