Signs

This is definitely one of the best movies that I have seen in years. The dialogue is smart, the camera work is perfect and the information and background setting are divulged to the audience at precisely the right pace and exactly the right moment. Mel Gibson turns in his best performance that I can remember and so does Pheonix, who is extremely funny and plays a very real and well defined character. The movie is coincidently the scariest movie that I can remember seeing in theatres, and the scary moments are guaranteed to haunt you for a few days afterwards at least, but the movie is so much better than that and its so much more than a movie about aliens. As everyone knows from reviews, "Signs" means more than just crop signs, but "signs" are never portrayed in a cheesy way, but in a realistic and honest sense, and capturing such a deep topic without going overboard or making a mockery of it seems very hard these days, so that makes the film all the more impressive. Basically, its just awesome, it really is. Go see it.

Signs is written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin and Cherry Jones. Music is scored by James Newton Howard and cinematography by Tak Fujimoto.

Still reeling from the death of his wife, former man of the cloth Graham Hess (Gibson) lives and works on his farm with his two young children and younger brother. When the family awakes one morning to find a huge crop circle in their plantation, it is asked if it's a prank or the sign of alien contact?

I don't know if M. Night Shyamalan discouraged the marketing of Signs? Where evidence very much pointed to it being an alien invasion movie for all the family to enjoy? But Signs is anything but a family alien invasion movie. The trailers were deliberately vague, there was a mystery element hanging over the picture and with the Shyamalan CV already boasting the phenomenally successful The Sixth Sense and the divisive, but very moody, Unbreakable, hopes were pitched somewhere between excited and intrigued. Gibson on board, and Phoenix as well, good selling points without a doubt. However, Signs is a grower, a film that pays better dividends on further viewings once armed with the knowledge of what sort of theme drives it on. Yet it still frustrates greatly and you can see why it proved so divisive.

Shyamalan's movie is primarily about faith, the loss of such, the alien visitors are merely a component of this theme, they act as the catalyst that takes Graham to the pinnacle of his voyage of discovery. The meditations on faith and grief are subtle initially but they drive the picture forward, but then Manoj Shyamalan slips into sermonising and his picture strives for a huge ending to justify it, which unfortunately never arrives, this after having been tickled and baited by the mystery of what the aliens want, friend or foe? Questions leap out such as will the Hess family come through this latest crisis in one piece? And will this "invasion" marry up with the director's thematics that he is so keen for us to open our hearts to? The answers to these questions are mixed, and take further viewings to digest fully. That is if you can forgive the downright idiocy of the alien visitors in the first place?

The last third has killed the film for many, which is a shame given the excellence on offer in the first hour. Shyamalan's camera is wonderfully fluid, his mise en scène is ace and he garners wonderfully low-key performances from his cast. While as much as his critics hate to acknowledge it, the director has a brilliant knack for building suspense, the ability to draw the viewer into his world, playing on our basic inquisitive nature. That he hasn't delivered on his promise, both here with the finale to the film and later in his overall directing career (though this writer personally loves The Village), is hard to argue against, but there is major talent there buried in his egocentric/confused make up. Elsewhere, James Newton Howard's score is channelling Herrmann and Fujimoto's photography is sublime, this really is a beautiful movie to look at.

Definitely not a family film, and not really an alien invasion film, with it showcasing both the good and bad aspects of its director. Yet still compelling and pretty enough to warrant a second viewing me thinks. 7/10

!!!!! MILD SPOILERS !!!!!

There's a lot to commend M Night Shyamalan's SIGNS for . It's not often we see such a moody atmospheric thriller about an alien invasion and I will praise this movie later . However Shyamalan shots himself in the foot by the way the story is told

Crop circles appear outside the home of the Hess family and after Graham Hess and his brother Merril find out that it wasn't caused by local pranksters Graham's son Morgan comes up with the answer - It was done by aliens . He knows this because he read a book on the subject . Obviously everyone else in the world has read only one book - The same one as Morgan - because as soon as crop circles appear round the world it's the leading story and can mean only one thing: The aliens are coming . And sure enough just like everyone has predicted lights appear over Planet Earth's cities which herald the start of little green men come to wipe us out

If someone told you crop circles were signs on an alien invasion how would you react ? Exactly but at no point does anyone question a possible invasion because it's taken as read by all the characters in the story which starts to become ridiculous when the world's broadcasters start interrupting programmes showing the world wide phenomenon of crop circles . Let's be honest here jet liners crashing into sky scrapers is a good reason to interrupt TV shows with 24 hour news reports but people finding crop circles all over the world is not

There's one other thing : Ten year old Morgan seems to be channeling the minds of Newton , Darwin and Einstien . Listen to this kid's dialogue " Everything people have written about in science books is about to change " and there's several more instances of this . You can't take this child seriously or believe in him as a three dimensional character

Make that two things : Why would aliens invade a planet whose surface is composed of 70% water ? Isn't the human body two thirds water anyway. Oh and how does Graham's neighbour know that the aliens don't like water anyway ?

Better make that three things because if the subtext is about rediscovering ones faith then why is everyone certain of an approaching invasion ? Surely for this theme to work then Graham should have been shouting from the roof tops that aliens don't exist only to be proved wrong . If he's wrong about aliens then surely he's wrong about the non existence of the lord right ?

It's a great pity that Shyamalan didn't think these things through a bit further because despite not ruining the movie these things stop SIGNS becoming a masterpiece of genre cinema which it certainly had the potential to be . Even a critical viewer like myself who noticed the flaws couldn't help being terrified by the climax in the cellar where for one heart stopping moment it looked like a couple of the characters had been abducted . As for the scene Graham sees the reflection in the TV .... I certainly can't fault the good bits and I will recommend this movie even to those who don't like SF/Horror very much . Certainly it's a radical change to watch a film like this that doesn't have tens of millions spent on special effects and the film works better for it . You reading this Mr Spielberg ?

Shyamalan will best be remembered for THE SIXTH SENSE , a film that I found somewhat overrated while his follow up UNBREAKABLE was a masterpiece in my opinion . SIGNS is slightly different because it doesn't have one of those shock twist endings and when you consider what a poor film THE VILLAGE is one can't help thinking that Shyamalan would be better off abandoning clever endings and concentrating on terrifying audiences and I would wonder if he could get away with directing a Hollywood version of Nigel Kneale's QUATERMASS AND THE PIT . Now that would be worth queuing at the cinema for

Update 30 dec : Some have mentioned that the concept of predestination is very important to understanding the movie ie the plot holes aren't actually plot holes viewed this way and while this makes absolute sense in a metaphysical way it still misses out on logic

During the course of the film Joaquin Phoenix's character remarks that the situation they're in seems like The War Of The Worlds. It certainly is, but the small picture of it.

Whereas H.G. Wells wrote on the grand scale about what nations and governments were doing to fight an alien invasion, M. Night Shyamalan's Signs concerns itself with the small picture, what is happening in one tiny corner of the world, to be precise Bucks County, Pennsylvania and very specifically Mel Gibson and his family.

One day farmer Gibson who used to be a minister woke up and found that his cornfield had been systematically decimated and a precise geographical pattern was laid out that could be seen from the air. He concluded it was some kind of prank which would have been the normal reaction of anyone. But when reports of the world wide similar crop defilings and then sitings of shadowy alien figures than the world is in a crisis mode.

But the world is on the back-burner for Gibson. He was a clergyman but gave it up after the death of his wife who was hit by a drunk driver. He's got his own issues to deal with if he can get himself, his children Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin and brother Joaquin Phoenix through the ordeal. All this without knowing how the world in general is coping. Gibson and the family can only speculate and that's where imaginations run wild.

I have to say that Mel Gibson does a thoroughly good job as an everyman caught up in a global crisis. When War Of The Words was made by George Pal in the Fifties, the leads Gene Barry and Ann Robinson were scientists who had vital information for the survival of the world. The globe is still at risk in Signs, but Mel and his family can't worry about that, just in keeping themselves alive.

Signs is thinking science fiction ranking up there with the best work of Ray Bradbury and John Heinlein. It's both entertaining and engrossing, you can't ask for more from a film.

My thoughts on M. Night Shyamalan's SIGNS

Rated: PG (Canada), PG-13 (U.S.)

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Kulkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones and M Night Shayamalan

"Daddy there's a monster beside my bed, can I have a glass of water?"

When Graham (Mel Gibson) and Merill Hess (Joaquin Phoenix) discover 50 ft circle and square shapes carved in their crops, the two try and find out the truth behind what is going on. However, what Graham learns soon is that the battle he will soon be facing is not that of extra terrestrial beings but that within his own self.

In facing a universal theme of life on other planets, Shyamalan's handling is different from your ordinary type of supernatural movie. This is because the underlying theme of this movie is not aliens, but in fact, it is faith. Faith in something larger, faith of miracles, faith that nothing in this life is coincidental and everything happens for a reason. The theme of this movie is not survival of outer forces rather than survival of internal and seemingly more powerful than what is even happening outside.

There is not a single movie that is out there which scares the viewer on a level of things they are NOT seeing rather than what they do see. It does not deserve to be classified in any category because this film is in a league of its own. The base of supernatural and extra terrestrial beings in this case forms the base for human self exploration and finding who they truly are.

PERFORMANCES

In all sequences, Shyamalan concentrates on character development and even from the first scene, we seemingly have a look into the world of a man, who is emotionally wounded, and yet silent and powerful. Shyamalan has gone with Mel Gibson to play the title role, which some fans of M. Night would have rather gone with Bruce Willis who has played the quiter type role in Sixth Sense and even starred in Shyamalan's "Unbreakable". However, from the very first frame, you can see that Gibson becomes the role and lives through the role. In terms of his performance, the transformation he goes through the entire frame of the movie really is a true testament to the powerful skill that this actor embodies. In many scenes, his eyes do the talking, and it takes a powerful director to really capitalize on what Gibson does in this type of role.

Joaquin Phoenix, playing Graham's brother Merill, is a powerful support in the movie. His character gains a lot of sympathy. Even as he is trying to find his place in the world, his support for his family is unwavering, making this role one of the most sympathetic and yet powerful roles the talented actor has ever faced.

Once again, Shyamalan gets unbelievably powerful performances from his child artistes in this movie. Rory Culkin, playing Graham's son in the movie, as well as Abigial Breslin, give such emotion filled performances that it really surprises us that Shyamalan can extract performances of this calibre from them.

Even Cherry Jones, who plays the local police officer, puts in a realistic and heartfelt performance as the local police officer in Graham's community.

Finally, Shyamalan himself makes a mark in the film. His role is an essential one and yet does not require many scenes. Shyamalan pulls them off with full ease and power.

DIRECTION/SCREENPLAY

If you try and compare "Signs" to any previous movies you may be able to find some ground from this movie in Shyamalan's first movie, "The Sixth Sense". However, in terms of comparisons, this is where they end. Shyamalan knows how to create and move in terms of environment, which is very important for all his movies. Shyamalan's direction is powerful and really gets under the skin of the characters.

Being a thriller, Shyamalan has used an older technique, where he uses comedy to offset a particular mood, even in the gravest of scenes. Shyamalan pulls this off extremely well, even as the screenplay pulls into frightening moments. It takes a brilliant filmmaker to do something like this even when the mood of the scene is totally contrasting to that of what the audience is experiencing.

Its something refreshing to see a brand new director like Shyamalan using the rules of filmmaking that have been forgotten by many of the newer filmmakers these days into making something so powerful and so refreshingly different for the summer. While many new filmmakers base their movies on subjects that really don't take any risks, Shyamalan has made a seemingly new genre, one of self exploration and discovery while in the face of fear or adversity. There is no other film like this one, as it takes two genres and really powers itself into making a seemingly hard hitting combination.

Even the title of the film has a meaning, as the signs are everywhere. There are subtle and hidden messages everywhere, from the scene where Merill is in the Army office and the Recruiter is speaking, or the flashback sequences which Mel Gibson has of a particular incident in his life.

OVERALL EFFECT

This film is unlike any other film to have ever come out in the genre of supernatural thriller or drama. Its something that lets you leave the cinema thinking truly that in this life there are no coincidences and things happen for a reason. As Gibson said in the film, there are two kinds of people. There are those who believe that everything happens for a reason and that we are not alone; and there are those who believe that we live in metaphysical solitude. There are people with faith and without it. He now has to figure out which group he belongs to, and so he does in the chilling climax.

The film is one of the most powerful pieces of cinema I have witnessed and simply put is a much watch.

Rating: 10 out of 10