I am all for representation of Indigenous people and Native American culture in cinema, but it’s hard to get behind the idea when it comes to movies like The Lady of the Lake. I’m not even going to go into good or bad, because this movie has to be one of the most pointless pieces of media that I’ve ever seen, and this is not an exaggeration. The absolute nothing of a movie has a plot that’s devoid of anything substantial. I should clarify that I am actually fond of stories where nothing exactly happens as long as they resonate with me in some way, but obviously that’s not the case with The Lady of the Lake. Anyway, you’re here for an explanation, and I am going to give you that, but I must tell you that a lot of it is going to be my own interpretation.
Spoiler Alert
What happens in the movie?
Originally titled The Lady of the Lake: The Legend of Lake Ronkonkoma, the movie takes on the Native American folklore of a princess’ ghost stuck in a lake and looking for her lover. Their love was forbidden, and upon realizing it would not be accepted by either of their tribes, the man killed himself. The woman died in grief, and now, after many years have passed, she claims the life of one of the town’s men every year. That is obviously a myth that’s been going around for years, although it is also true that young men from the town keep disappearing (and dying) while swimming in the lake. For police chief Adam Schultz, though, the lake is just dangerous for many scientific reasons, and he continues to urge people not to go near it. Adam lost his own son Eric to the lake, almost a year ago. His wife Mia is still not over it and in a state of permanent mourning. Eric’s sister Jamie is about to leave town for college. Her (and Eric’s) friends have arranged a party for Jamie on her birthday as one last hurrah and also to honor Eric. The party is supposed to happen right beside the lake, about which Adam is unaware as he wouldn’t allow it.
Does the party happen?
The major problem of this movie is not the plot but the writing. I’m not trying to undermine anything, but how hard is it to get the teen drama angle right? The characters here are extremely animated, and even though the actors are trying, they are saddled with a story arc that doesn’t make much sense. We don’t get much about Eric’s character or his relationship with these friends. All I could gather is Eric was really close to his sister, and his death hit her really hard. There’s this genuinely nice guy, Erwin, who’s very much into Jamie, but she doesn’t see him like that. My guess here is that at some point Jamie friendzoned Erwin, but he still sticks around for her; not that it matters in the context of the story. There’s another girl who seems to be into Erwin, and by the end of the movie, these two sort of happen, which also doesn’t matter. What the movie tells us is Eric used to be in a relationship with Gigi, but he cheated on her with this girl Ronnie, who was in a relationship with Rocky. All these people are part of the same group of friends, which also has Scott and Lizzie, who are a couple. Ronnie is now hitting on Jamie, and the latter is not much indulging it. Although as the narrative progresses, Jamie seems to respond to Ronnie’s advances. All this has no relevance to the actual plot, so it’s futile to make much sense out of it. The party does happen as per the plan, but it is cut short as Adam and one of his deputies, Becca (who’s also Rocky’s elder sister), arrive on the scene and order everyone to wrap it up. So the group has no other option but to do a house party instead of a beach party where everyone gets wasted. The next morning, Scott and Lizzie take a boat and head out on the lake for the sake of some adventure, I suppose. That turns out to be a bad decision as the boat randomly capsizes, and while Lizzie manages to get back on it, Scott is pulled underwater by something. Is the princess’ ghost behind it? Most likely.
What happens to Jamie?
The Lady of the Lake was never really about the ghost or the folklore. It is really about how the tragedy of Eric’s death affects the Schultz family—Adam, Mia, and Jamie. All of them are struggling from the beginning of the story. Adam is trying his best to keep it together. He’s hiding his grief while he keeps getting haunted by the ghost. It is never clear whether the supernatural elements you see in the movie are real or if people are either dreaming or hallucinating. Considering they all live in a town that is carrying the myth of the lady of the lake, and the family suffered such a tragedy, it was bound to happen. For Mia, though, it is particularly difficult to accept that her son is no more. There are certain points in the movie where it seems like the Schultzes might lose Mia to the ghost of the lake. But I guess the director thought this family deserves a happy ending, and I would say that’s quite reasonable. Although the way everyone starts seeing the light right after the tragedy of Scott is kind of astonishing. The only way it can be justified is the Schultz family finally coming to the realization that they need to take care of the ones still alive. Eric may be gone, but Jamie is still here, and she has a life ahead. The movie ends with her leaving the town, as per the plan. She is going to study Native American history, and her life is going to be something. This way, she finally manages to leave the lady of the lake behind. This is what I conclude, but you are welcome to share your theories.
