Signs Review

by Laura Clifford (laura AT reelingreviews DOT com)
August 5th, 2002

SIGNS
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Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is brushing his teeth one morning when a high pitched scream alerts him to the fact that his two young children, Morgan (Rory Culkin,
"You Can Count On Me") and Bo (Abigail Breslin), are not in the house. The former minister, who lost his faith when his wife died in a tragic accident six months earlier, rushes outside and into his fields where he finds both his children and what will be the first of many "Signs."

Writer/director/producer M. Night Shyamalan is back to his old tricks with his newest thriller. Once again, a lonely man goes on a spiritual journey while chilling supernatural events are upending his world. Shyamalan's trademark color, pattern and technological visual signals (circles announce the presence of aliens in crops, curtain patterns and sliced zucchini; the color blue symbolizes the spirit of a dead wife and mother; crucifixes counterpoint circles; televisions report disasters and reflect evil) may be fun to look for, but they're nothing new and getting a bit obvious. It's time
for the Oscar nominated wunderkind to move in a different direction.
That's not to say "Signs" has nothing to offer. Shyamalan knows how to craft an effective thriller, and this one's scare level is back to "The Sixth Sense" levels. At first, Graham and his younger brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix, "Gladiator") believe the enormous crop circle formation in their corn was caused by local bad boys Lionel Pritchard and the Wolfington brothers, but when they spy a tall figure on the roof of the barn that night and are unable to catch it, they begin to suspect otherwise. Officer Caroline Paski (Cherry Jones, "Erin Brockovich") tells Graham that area animals have been acting strangely, like they do when there are predators about, just before Morgan kills the family dog for attacking his little sister.

When the news begins to report crop circle formations popping up worldwide, Carolyn advises Graham to take his family into town to get their minds onto everyday things instead of worrying about what's going on in the world (shades of Rudy Giuliani). The family excursion finds each facing personal demons, though. Graham goes to pick up Morgan's asthma medicine and gets an unwanted confession. Morgan and Bo locate a book on aliens that later visualize Hell for Graham. Merrill meets an admiring army recruiter who remembers his minor league home run record but old foe Lionel butts in with his strike out record. The whole family sees Ray (Shyamalan), the man who struck and killed Colleen Hess (Patricia Kalember, TV's "thirtysomething"). The family returns home and the world's worries arrive at their door.
"Signs resembles "The Night of the Living Dead" by way of "The
War of the Worlds." "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" are paid homage via a riderless swinging swing and mashed potatoes. The farmhouse setting and an unusual mode of destruction recall "The Wizard of Oz." Shyamalan repeatedly flashes back to Graham's memory of arriving at his wife's accident site, each time revealing more, with the final flashback neatly tied into "Sign's" dictum that there are no coincidences. He doesn't so much twist his ending this time around as provide revelatory information at film's climax that bring his themes together and restoring his hero's faith.

Culkin and Breslin are almost, but not quite, overly precocious. Culkin is a small adult, challenging his father with intelligence. Breslin is adorable, but Shyamalan wisely works her cherubic looks into his plot. Her timing and shading of line delivery belie her age. Phoenix provides most of the film's comic relief (and there's surprisingly plenty). He nicely balances
his own dark doubts with outward strength and support for his family. Cherry Jones has an off kilter speech in her introductory scene, but from that point onwards she's terrific, particularly in the climatic flashback scene.
Gibson, however, brings nothing new to the table, replaying the earnest dad from "The Patriot," albeit with less violence and outward anguish. It's a spiritless performance that never involves the audience. I couldn't help but think if Shyamalan wouldn't have had a better movie if he'd stuck with former star Willis.

Director of Photography Tak Fujimoto ("The Sixth Sense") captures the director's vision with his carefully, symmetrically composed shots, which are interwoven with unobtrusive movement and plenty of overhead shots to note patterns and the characters' places within them. Literal darkness is prominent in this film and Fujimoto illuminates it at just the right level.
Production Designer Larry Fulton ("The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable") loads the film with visual cues such as designing the Hess dining room to remind us of what's happening outside with a table that rests on a circular braided rug illuminated from above with a chandelier of hovering lights. Visual effects are kept to a minimum (the filmmakers really created their own crop circles), but are effective when used. The aliens have been designed with the standard template, yet have been given devilish claws and hooves in keeping with the religious symbolism used throughout the film.

B-

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