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.
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