suspense, intensity, twists, humour and intelligence

Rating: 8/10 (24 January 2013)

This is my favourite type of sci-fi thriller; whilst fantasy, and ultimately set to shock and scare, it is still brilliant in terms of it's content, script, conception and intelligence. It is not schlock, the violence and suspense are gripping and plausible, there's no 'silliness'. You commit to what is on screen almost immediately. M. Night Shyamalan (who has a small but pivotal role as well as writing and directing) is a genius of creativity. He doesn't spell the plot out for you as if you were stupid, as much American film/TV tends to, but a lot of background is outlined in the opening sequence before anyone has spoken a single word, just by paying attention. Informational conversation is realistic and whilst it informs the viewer it still makes sense in terms of the characters, so the viewer has to piece it together rather than being presented with it. Brilliant writing - can't praise that enough.
Over all the film is fantastic, there's nothing that I can fault really. All performances are perfectly gaged; Mel Gibson is great, Joaquin Phoenix in perhaps my favourite role and he looks amazing ;-) and the two child actors Rory Culkin and the adorable Abigail Breslin were played naturally and just right. There are no massive bells and whistles in terms of big budget SFX, sets and contrivances, the film offers its 'kicks' on suspense and the less-is-more, almost for-the-stage, attitude to filming. It was filmed, by appearances, simply and often in the dark, using limited light to add tension. The musical score adds tremendous amounts of depth, drama and spook-factor and silence is used cleverly too. What builds a crescendo of dread is the narration given by television news reels, often on in the background, and that reporting adds realism to the plot:- You get a view of the outside world, and imagine what it would be like if anything like this happened. Some of the worst bits of the film are things you barely see but have you on the edge of your seat, just like Merrill (Phoenix) watching the TV, and you need to keep your wits about you if you are going to see all the connections as nothing is superfluous in this film it seems.
The title, Signs, refers to the crop circles but also in the context of faith and belief, and the emotional roller-coaster in this film is based around Graham Hess' crisis of personal Faith and the element of predetermination or lack of coincidence in our everyday lives. It is both touching but also challenging, and as the film keeps you intimate with the action using up close shots and unusual focus on eyes, to draw you in, so you are brought to think about how you feel too as another onion layer. Whilst a very tense film, there are delightful smiles and laughs dotted throughout, and some moments of comedic laugh out loud genius (Phoenix has some great timing) and even having seen it before, it still doesn't fail to please, entertain and thrill on every level.