Mixed ‘Signs’ on Gibson film

‘Signs’ an effective, harrowing thriller

When I woke up from a nightmare two nights ago, thinking I had

heard someone rattling the knob of my front door, I realized I had

just experienced my first film inspired nightmare in more than a

decade. What higher praise can you bestow on “Signs” an effective

thriller, harrowing, captivating and moving film experience.

Director M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable”) has

shown an impressive knack for taking B-Movie premises, mixing in

intriguing characterizations then blind siding the audience with an

act three twist that leaves you giddy with excitement. The director

seems to look at his elevation of B-movie material as a challenge. He

succeeds because his deft attention to realistic, detailed human

interaction infuses the Sci-Fi details with credibility. You identify

with the family, feel their fear, never questioning for a moment that

aliens may be on the other side of the door.

Shyamalan knows that audiences are always trying to figure out

where a story’s heading, but quickly lose interest if they turn out

to be right. This is a director who knows how to keep the audience

guessing.

Mel Gibson is Graham Hess, a former Episcopal minister who turned

his back on faith after his beloved wife was struck by a car and

killed. Graham’s younger brother, Merril (Joaquin Phoenix), a failed

minor league baseball player, moved into the Hess farm to help with

his two young children: a daughter (Abigail Breslin) and a son (Rory

Culkin).

In the riveting opening sequence, Graham and his family discover a

huge section of corn stock has been flattened into a pattern that

seems to intricate for humans to create in a single night -- an

ominous crop circle.

The television news reports of similar crop circles appearing in

locations all over the planet at an alarming rate. Soon, it becomes

apparent these patterns are the preliminary signs of an alien

invasion. For me, Shyamalan is the most exciting new filmmaker

working today. He is refreshing because he makes unapologetic mass

audience pleasers in the vein of Spielberg and Lucas, where so many

choose to reject the main stream in a noble effort to preserve the

artistic integrity. Shyamalan proves you can do both. He stamps his

film with a distinct visual language, mood and thematic texture.

Director of photography Tak Fujimoto captures the ominous mood with

warm but somber lighting.

As a screenwriter, Shyamalan is a focused, minimalist storyteller.

“Signs” tells the story of a global alien invasion through the eyes

of the Hess family, on the farm that they never leave. The stroke of

genius is the way in which the television news is employed as an

effective method of giving the story a huge scope without it

overwhelming the human story; each broadcast conveys an increasingly

alarming update, one of which was responsible for my nightmare.

Simply put, it freaked me out. “Signs” is horror without the gore.

Fear is psychological and the director aims right for it.

Shyamalan keeps “Signs” simple and sparse. Every scene has a

purpose; every line of dialogue is building to an unpredictable turn

of events that develop during the final moments. There are precious

few digital effects, but when they’re used, they’re chilling and

effective.

One can’t help but admire the way the theme of faith is so

expertly weaved into the plot and characters. “Signs” is about

long-suppressed personal demons that are forced to the surface as

some very real demons inevitably close in and leave no room for

escape. The relationships of Graham with his family are touching and

emotionally arresting. As for the twist ending, I had a real fear

that it would fall just short of expectation. It worked for me. I

suspect some will disagree, even may be confused; if you listen for

the cues, I promise you won’t beOne minor criticism: Shyamalan has

taken to giving himself cameos in his films, a la Hitchcock, but his

roles keep growing. Here he plays a local veterinarian who was

responsible for the death of Graham’s wife. Shyamalan’s first

appearance is convincing, but his final, pivotal scene is competent

at best.

As it ended and the lights came up in the theater, I knew there

was one unequivocal certainty: Seeing this movie again was a definite

must.

* ALLEN MacDONALD, 29, is currently working toward his master’s

degree in screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los

Angeles.

Predictable ‘Signs’

M. Night Shyamalan’s films all have a certain formula. One goes to

his films expecting a surprise or twist. While he does not disappoint

in that expectation with this film, I found the twist to be much more

predictable than in his prior works, “The Sixth Sense” and

“Unbreakable.”

However, no mystery presented within the plot surpasses the

conundrum of why he insists on casting himself in roles within his

films. His role in this film is sizably more than a Hitchcockian

cameo, and is definitely not an Oscar contending performance. Mel

Gibson plays a reverend named Graham who, six months prior, lost his

wife in a car accident. The driver of the car that killed Graham’s

wife is played by Shyamalan. Her senseless death made Graham denounce

his faith and his profession. Graham is left alone to raise his two

children Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin). Merrill

(Joaquin Phoenix), is Graham’s younger brother who could have played

professional baseball, but instead works as a gas station attendant.

Merrill now lives with Graham in a show of support.

Intermingled with this family drama is a science fiction tale told

with mediocre precision. Crop circles have erupted all over the world

simultaneously. Lights have appeared in a number of city skies. Birds

fall from the sky. Dogs go crazy. Graham prepares his family for what

he believes to be the end of the world. Although the suspense is

palpable, and the frequent silences leave you to listen only to the

rustling of your neighbor’s Goobers, or the squeaking of a fidgety

audience member’s seat. The authenticity of the events unfold like in

a bad B-movie. The news coverage you see on Graham’s TV always

focuses on an anchor reporting on events, even as the “signs”

escalate into invasion. However, we never see a press briefing, or a

military presence. When we finally see the aliens, they resemble a

puppet version of the “Creature from the Black Lagoon”. Do aliens

take over the world? Does the world end? Shyamalan’s overall intent

is to deliver the message that there are no coincidences, and that

everything happens for a reason. Had Shyamalan improved the film’s

pacing, forced some of the choices made by key characters to be more

plausible, and allowed the sci-fi aspects of the story to be epic

while at the same time more realistic, then I might not have been too

distracted by the film’s deficiencies to enjoy the message. “Signs”

is not a bad film, I just expected more.

* RAY BUFFER, 32, is a professional singer, actor and voice-over

artist.