"Signs" Rated PG-13
*****/*****
Signs is a breath of fresh air into a dull year for movies. It is almost an old-fashioned film, very skillfully and effectively executed by an amazing young talent, M. Night Shyamalan. Shyamalan is not afraid (after the disappointing Unbreakable) to step out of the massive shadow of the hit thriller The Sixth Sense and please fans in a new way. He doesn’t try to hard to force in a surprise ending that doesn’t fit. He has grown a lot since The Sixth Sense, but it’s spirit is still there.
Signs creates it’s atmosphere very effectively. It makes the viewer not scared of what’s there (like a normal slasher movie) but rather afraid of what’s not there. Instead of being afraid of a monster holding a knife, we are afraid of shadows, reflections, and footsteps. That fact that we don’t know exactly what is going on and why also makes us more apprehensive.
Another good aspect of the film, is that it’s characters are not secondary to the action. This is very much a character driven story. it focuses on Graham, a widower and ex-minister living in Buck’s County, PA with his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) and two kids. The main focus of the film is Graham’s faith. He has abandoned his faith after the death of his wife, but will these events make him believe again?
Anyone who has seen the trailer knows what events I speak of. Graham wakes up one day to cries of his children. He then sees the 500 foot geometric patterns in his corn field. Shortly afterward, he hears news about hundreds of other signs cropping up all over the world. His family is split between believing that these signs are, in fact, the work of extraterrestrials, and believing that they are the work of “nerds who can’t get any girlfriends”. As news gets more and more unbelievable, there is more and more of a struggle between the belief that all things happen for a reason and that the world is all just coincidence. This is the central mystery of the story. The possibility of aliens is just a way of manifesting Graham’s beliefs.
But don’t worry, it’s not a boring drama. It is very exciting and will keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire running time. Another strong point is the movies cutting sense of humor. Throughout the movie I was amazed at how funny it was and how Shyamalan can balance the drama and the comedy perfectly and not use them as contradictory forces, but rather two equally important and effective methods of storytelling.
Weither your looking for something that will “tickle your funnybone” or a “spin-chiller”, a drama or just a great movie, Signs has something in it for you.
