The Water Man | 2020 | PG | – 2.4.3

Why is “The Water Man” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “thematic content, scary images, peril and some language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes partial, limited nudity and a medical drawing of the male anatomy, talk of a man that survived a flood and searches for his wife’s body to revive her, a woman suffering from leukemia, several dangerous encounters in a forest including an uncontrolled forest fire, natural disasters, discussions of child abuse, and some mild language and name-calling. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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After hearing about a mythical person that has the power to both heal and impart immortality, a teenage boy (Lonnie Chavis) embarks on a mission to find the man and cure his mother (Rosario Dawson) from her illness. Also with Maria Bello, Alfred Molina, David Oyelowo, Amiah Miller, Jessica Oyelowo and Ted Rooney. Directed by David Oyelowo. [Running Time: 1:31]

The Water Man SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A husband and his wife hold each other, while lying fully clothed in bed. A teen boy and a teen girl hug (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details). A woman removes her robe in a bathroom and we see her bare shoulders and back to the waist (she is also bald). Drawings of a male without any visible genitalia are shown in an anatomy book.

The Water Man VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A teen boy holds a sword and walks through a dark forest at night while on watch; we see something moving through the shadows around him and the boy becomes frightened. A teen girl tackles a teen boy and they struggle on the ground briefly. A teen girl screams when a beetle falls on her and many more beetles fall on her and a teen boy, and they slide down a hillside. A forest is in flames and we see a teen boy and a teen girl walking through smoke-filled areas and coughing, as ash falls on them. A teen boy crosses a fallen tree over rapids and slips; he grips onto the tree and calls for help saying that he cannot swim until a teen girl helps him. A teen boy and a teen girl hug as they are surrounded by flames in a forest. A man takes a teen boy and a teen girl into a river; the boy protests saying that he cannot swim and the man helps him swim across and away from a forest fire.
► A teen boy enters a shack and hides under a bed when he hears footsteps approaching; a man wearing heavy animal pelts enters and we see the man’s face partially decayed with bones exposed on one side of his face and the man moans and wheezes. A teen boy sees his mother without hair (presumably after cancer treatments) and the boy has a panic attack; he falls to the floor holding his chest and hyperventilating. An animated sequence shows a man holding a glowing rock over a dead deer (we see a wound on its side) and the animal revives.
► A police officer confronts a man about an injury his daughter sustained and accuses him of hurting her. A man yells at a teen boy when he suspects the boy of playing a prank on him. A man steps on a pen on the floor in his son’s room and it breaks and spills ink on a sketch and the boy yells, “You ruined it.” A man yells at his son in a few scenes and scares him. A teen boy says of his father, “He’s always mad at me.” A teen boy talks to his mother about what happens after death. A man yells in grief. A teen girl says, “If you snitch, I kill you.” A teen boy and a teen girl argue and the girl tells the boy, “Everyone you love will one day leave you.” A man tells a teen boy, “The power you seek [immortality] comes at a heavy price.” We hear about a dam breaking and flooding a town, killing all the occupants and the sequence is accompanied by an animated depiction of people floating and drowning; we hear that one man survived and continues to look for his wife’s body to heal her. We understand that a woman is suffering from leukemia. A reference is made about a shadowy figure in a lake with fire in his chest and hope in his eyes. We hear that a man discovered a glowing ore while digging in a mine and that it imparted immortality. A teenage boy writes a graphic novel about a detective trying to solve his own murder; the character sees a body at a crime scene that is his own and says, “I’m a ghost.” A teen girl tells stories about having been attacked by a mythical being and that he left her with the scar she has on her neck. A man hangs missing posters throughout a town when looking for his teen son.
► We hear a loud sound and the ground trembles as many wild horses charge toward a teen boy and a teen girl; they run and jump out of the way of the horses as they pass. A teen boy and a teen girl sit at a campfire at night in thick forest and we hear coyotes howling in the distance. A teen boy takes a sword off the wall at his home and leaves the house to search for someone that can help his mother. A teen girl shoplifts candy from a convenience store. A teen girl swings a sword down onto a can of peaches that splatter on her and a teen boy laughs at her. A teen girl shivers in a dark forest and says, “I’m starving.”
► A man and a woman help a woman into a bed and we see an IV pump in the room; the woman seems very weak and sick. We hear a woman coughing and gagging (we do not see any goo) and see her standing over a sink; she closes the door when her teen son sees her and becomes alarmed. A teen boy tells a nurse that she should be giving his mother a different medicine after he has researched leukemia; the nurse dismisses him.
► People are shown standing around a coffin at a funeral in a cemetery. We see a scar on a teen girl’s neck and understand that she was cut by her father. A teen boy urinates against a tree in the distance (nothing is seen or heard).

The Water Man LANGUAGE 3

 – 3 scatological terms, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (weird, crazy, Water Man, wuss, idiot, dope), exclamations (darn, mind your own business, ew, shut-up, wow, no way), religious profanities, 4 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh My God, Holy [scatological term deleted], a woman talks other son about her perception of Heaven, people pray over a meal). | profanity glossary |

The Water Man SUBSTANCE USE

 – A prescription vial is labeled “Morphine.”

The Water Man DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Parenting, illness, leukemia, immortality, resurrection, death, fate, imagination, child abuse, fear, survival skills, legends.

The Water Man MESSAGE

 – Hope is a powerful force; love each other every day that you have.