A boy sets out on a quest to save his ill mother by searching for a mythic figure said to have magical healing powers.... (Full plot summary below)
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A boy sets out on a quest to save his ill mother by searching for a mythic figure said to have magical healing powers.
Leave your thoughts about The Water Man.
| RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyChildren absorb everything, good and bad, all the stresses, heartbreak, anxiety of the adults around them. Children can handle the difficult things. Oyelowo knows this and respects it. |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFrom the get-go, we have a pretty good sense of where The Water Man will take us, and while there are a few small surprises along the way, the real delight is the journey itself and how the real bond of a family is stronger than any monsters lurking in the dark. |
| Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerIn a time when happy endings seem in short supply, The Water Man's sense of heroic wonder is the kid-sized epic we need. |
| Washington PostAnn HornadayOyelowo brings a thoughtful sensibility and thoroughgoing good taste to the kind of movie Hollywood doesn’t produce anymore but shouldn’t be so quick to discard. |
| Screen DailyWendy IdeThe directorial debut from David Oyelowo is a rewarding, (older) family-friendly adventure which packs some crisply executed moments of nail-biting peril into a moving story which deals with grief, loss and newly forged friendships. |
| The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeOyelowo is sure-footed in his feature directing debut, delivering a smart and wholesome picture with about as little sentimentality as such a tale can have. |
| TheWrapAlonso DuraldeAmid the excitement — those bugs, a pack of wild horses, a looming forest fire — the film finds room to explore bigger issues, like living life to the fullest even when death is inevitable, and the fact that the toughest-acting kids are often the most vulnerable. |
| The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Johanna SchnellerThe Water Man myth feels incomplete. What is magical, though, is the chance to root for a young Black male hero as he navigates a family crisis that’s both specific and universal, and not based on race. |
| ABCPeter TraversActor David Oyelowo makes a heartfelt directing debut in a PG adventure about a boy (Lonnie Chavez) in search of a mythic creature who might save his dying mother. Even when the pace drags, the film remains a rare gift for family audiences. |
| PolygonRobert Danielsf not for the uptempo rhythm, The Water Man’s thin plotting would make it a slog. If not for Oyelowo’s handsomely mounted camera capturing the forest in supernatural blues and reds, the audience’s attention might wander to their phones. Thankfully, the well-executed components support the fairy tale when the tale itself runs short. |
