Beauty comes from Night

Yes, I'm finally back to post a bit here. I know it's been ages, and Eriol has been both astute and steadfast in posting in the stead of those of us who are chronic procrastinators.
So my subject today is a director who is to me what Joss Whedon is to Eriol. A hero of sorts, M. Night Shyamalan has, in the matter of a few short weeks, won me over to a whole new world of filmmaking.
I recently took time off to go and watch the film, Lady In The Water, the aforementioned director's most recent work. Not having been introduced to him and his body of art before, I was very pleased and inspired. So inspired, in fact, that I immediately went and rented Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, and The Sixth Sense, in that order. I did that in two weeks time. I capped it all off by going again and watching LITW for a second time. I was bewildered, inspired, angered, and saddened, encouraged, provoked, and heartened by Shyamalan's brainchildren. He takes a route not often known in Hollywood; that of the thoughtful, while possibly not blockbuster, road, which winds far more deeply into the human condition and the intellect than most of hollywood fare could dream of.
From his first movie to his most recent, questions are asked that demand answers. And people in the stories are presumed upon to answer them. But even as we watch the plot twist, we can feel our minds twisting, trying to grasp the ideas that Shyamalan is pushing upon us. Questions about fear and courage, the cost of innocence, coming to terms with sorrow, understanding reality, seeing faith as more than a fluke. Even while we are entertained, we are stimlutated to start thinking.
I think that is why I was so drawn to him. Because he made me uncomfortable with questions he was asking in his films, questions that can't be answered on the first pass. Images and dialogue between characters still haunt me, as I try to comprehend them. I can't stop thinking abou them until I have arrived at a conclusion as to the answer. And if a director can inspire such deep postulation, then he has my respect and following.
Beyond that, I simply am thoroughly entertained by his movies. They have great plot twists, shocking, and I mean shocking, endings, and thoughtful characters. The cinematography is excellent, perhaps even breathtaking, throughout the majority of every film, and the writing (sans one film, I'm not telling) is some of the best I've come across in a while. If you have commited the crime of missing or avoiding this art, please, repent and make amends. It will be worth every minute.
So yes, he is presuming to be my favorite director, even at this early stage. But I don't mind. I welcome it. You can keep your Spielbergs, Lucases, and Hitchcocks. I follow the Night.