Overall Thoughts: Solid director's chair debut is a little melancholic, but strong on imagination.
When actors jump into the director's seat, there's always questions as to whether or not he or she can achieve success. One notable success story I can think of would have to be Ben Stiller's work on the memorable Secret Life of Walter Mitty. That quirky film has become a bit of a cult classic in recent years. Is David Oyelewo (Selma, Captive) destined to head down a similar path?
The answer is...maybe. Water Man isn't quite a classic on first watch, but it's still got more than enough working in its favor to make for a very good movie. You can tell upon watching this movie that Oyelowo was very inspired by Steven Spielberg's 80's/early 90's work, as he imbues the film with perspective-shifting and imaginative touches that almost serve as callbacks to those yesteryear classics.
At the same time, he and screenwriter Emma Needell craft a meaningful story filled with emotional sincerity. Gunner's journey to realizing the importance of valuing time with others in hard circumstances is well-scripted. There's some humorous moments in the mix also. Adding to the sincerity and thoughtfulness of the project are the performances, led by a convincing Lonnie Chavis as Gunner and Amiah Miller as a tough-as-nails friend named Jo who hides a suspicious past.
As for the supporting cast, Oyelowo and Rosario Dawson have nice chemistry as Gunner's parents, while Maria Bello fits nicely into her role as Sheriff Goodwin, and Alfred Molina gets a couple of solid scenes as funeral organizer Jim. Meanwhile, Peter Baert did a really nice job with the score. A mixture of piano and music box-oriented music really help accompany the mixture of themes the film grapple with.
On the downside, the film's first act is a little too melancholy. While it's necessary to set up what's going on, it spends a little too much time on the dire situations in Gunner's family. Thankfully, that does get put to the side as we get into the second act (and it certainly doesn't dwell on family sadness throughout like Come Away did last year, which also starred Oyelowo). Also, the film does take a little bit of time to really get going.
The visual effects are not always effective per se either. The climactic fire sequence, for example, doesn't seem realistic and shows minor signs of budget constraints. However, the moments where Gunner's imagination comes to life on his artwork nearly make up for this. And at the same time, the visual effects refreshingly take an overall backseat to the character development, which is always welcome in movies like this.
Ultimately, while the overall film doesn't quite live up to the standards of the classics Oyelowo was looking to emulate (or homage), The Water Man does succeed as an engaging and fairly compelling film that is worth watching on a big (or small) screen.
Grade: B+
Is this movie family-friendly? The Water Man is rated PG for "thematic content, scary images, peril and some language." I would say that is pretty accurate. Families with very young kids may find themselves upset by some of the film's sad themes (terminal illness, death, etc.). Besides that, the Water Man's image is a little on the disturbing side and we also see an image of a dead woman underwater (presumably drowned). Kids are shown to be in danger in a forest fire as well as nearly falling into a raging river and other threatening situations. Fairly brief language includes one use each of "d***it!", "h***", "oh my g**", and the acronym "BS". "Crap" is used multiple times. Meanwhile, characters lie. Gunner runs away from home (even if it was with positive intentions). Gunner's father raises his voice at him at one point. Ultimately, mature third or fourth graders and older might enjoy this movie.
