What lies behind the Signs

Rating: Null/10 (4 October 2004)

The film "Signs" was released in 2002 which was written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. "Signs" takes place in a small farm town of the family of a retired reverend. The reverend Grim (Mel Gibson), along with his two children and his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), lives on a farm where unusual events involving crop circles have begun to occur. Suspense builds and aliens invade earth, leaving the family to discover a way to fend them off.
The plot of the film includes aliens invading planet Earth, but the underlying theme of the movie is whether or not things happen for a reason or that there are no coincidences. Unfortunate events occurred which caused Grim to retire from the Catholic Church and live as a farmer. The beginning of the movie explains that Grim believes that there are no coincidences and that there is no one watching Earth from above. Merrill believes that there is hope that things will turn out for the better and events do happen for a reason. By the end of the movie, the idea that there are coincidences and that things do happen for a reason is clearly portrayed.
"Signs" could be the ultimate masterpiece created by Shyamalan. The plot of invading aliens combined with the theme of coincidental action gave way to a film full of action, suspense, humor, and emotions. In many films, aliens are characterized as corny looking, but in "Signs" they were respectfully portrayed. Location of a farm town was perfect as crop circles are often associated with extra terrestrial invasions, which made the dialogue and costumes appropriate to the setting. It is hard for me personally to find anything appalling in this film, as everything flowed smoothly from one scene to the next. This is definitely the kind of movie that will not only entertain us, but also cause us to think about why things happen.