Director David Oyelowo and screenwriter Emma Needell bring '80s-feeling nostalgia and childhood mythology to screen in the crowd-pleasing and family friendly, The Water Man. The film is a feel-good movie with enough twists and turns to keep kids and parents alike engaged throughout the entire adventure. 

Needell originally found success with the film via the Blacklist in 2015 and has been on a journey to get the picture made ever since. As the Golden Globe® and Emmy®-nominated actor Oyelowo’s directorial debut, hopefully, the movie will get the attention it deserves. The story is undoubtedly personal to Needell, who states: “I feel like in a way I’ve been building toward the story for a lot of my life.”

Her childhood is evidenced throughout, as Needell grew up on a solar-powered cattle ranch without TV readily available—but she did have movies. “I knew there was a big outside world. Movies have always meant a lot to me. Watching so many films growing up, it’s why I wanted to work in Hollywood in the first place. I also had the woods and the ranch and nature as a source of imagination.” 

It’s no wonder Needell’s work is so rich with mythology. Her young protagonist Gunner (Lonnie Chavis of This is Us) is an aspiring mystery writer in the movie. He spends his time frequenting the local bookstore for research and devours books faster than the bookstore owner can provide them; his own imagination rife with budding folklore and mythology.

“The spark comes from where I grew up, and the legend of the west. We lived 30 minutes from a big mining town and there was a mansion there, haunted by the ghost of a mining baron. There were always ghost stories that were in and around my psyche, and that inspired The Water Man," Needell notes. 

The idea of The Water Man (who apparently holds the key to immortality) can be scary, but the movie is undoubtedly for a wide variety of ages in its appeal: “I give a lot of credit to David on that front,” effuses Needell. “There are also some parallels here: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s  Labyrinth, The Kings of Summer, and Stand By Me were all influences—a young protagonist going on an adventure, but dealing with intense real things. That was our North Star. It was also important to us not to talk down to a young audience. Kids are smart and dealing with a lot of stuff. They have a lot of gravitas,” Needell stresses. 

The film indeed does not hesitate to shy away from tough stuff. Gunner’s mom is dying of cancer and his father is never easy on him, so it’s easy to understand why he wants to get lost in the myth of the Water Man. Needell also dealt with some trauma at a young age.

“I had a friend who had a near-death experience as a river guide, who fell off their raft and was held underwater and had to be resuscitated. To hear them talk about their experience and that moment underwater when they feared they were gonna die and they were actually filled with euphoria instead of pain and panic. It affected their worldview and has given them a sense of peace. I think finding hope in a time when you don’t feel at it all… The Water Man was my own exploration of the power of hope.”

There’s also an overall level of honesty in the story that Needell clearly values. “You can’t sugar coat it or be false about death. It will eventually happen to all of us. It’s more about how do you talk about that? David is a father of four and understands the importance of not talking down to kids."

In the film, Gunner ventures into a forest in danger of catching fire as he tries to find the Water Man, where he meets tough girl Jo (Amiah Miller) who lives outside and rarely shows her own wounds, even though she has plenty. But no matter what Gunner goes through, the heart of the story is clear: “It’s his love for his mother and the best way to protect her, that makes his journey so poetic,” says Needell. “And sometimes, that’s just to be there for someone. A direct quote from Mary (Gunner’s Mom in the movie, played by Rosario Dawson) is: ‘We need to spend the time we do have loving each other every day.’ It’s such an important lesson.”

Needell clearly loves the craft as much as the glory in her first released feature. “A screenplay at the end of the day is writing a story to inspire others,” she remarks. “Whether it’s a director who wants to bring their vision and passion and assemble the team, or to inspire actors to be these characters and embody them, but also to inspire other people on set. It’s why I want to keep telling stories; to write something that inspires all the other artists who collaborate on it.” 

The effort of that collaboration on The Water Man has clearly already paid off. An inspired, live-action four quadrant family movie that actually makes it to screens sometimes feels rare—particularly if it’s a gem like this one. Audiences can see The Water Man in theaters on May 7th.