Lady in the Water is a 2006 American fantasy film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard. The film follows 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 generally unfavorable reviews from film critics.