A clever disguise

Rating: Null/10 (2 August 2002)

Sparing the increasingly jaded and rather judgmental readers from the usual barrage of aggressive opinions and redundant plot summaries, I will simply get to the point (a tactic that seems all but forgotten in the world of instant critics): The latest Shayamalan vehicle is project that disguises a retelling of H.G. Wells' 'The War of the Worlds' as a modern thriller. Cleverly, though.
The first critic I began to read was Roger Ebert, and one of the things that I noticed about his method of approach was that unless the film was too atrocious to tolerate, there were always positive and negative things to say together. "Signs" does not qualify as atrocious, so here it goes.
POSITIVE: This may very well be the most effective thriller since "Jaws." Granted that time will tell us whether this assessment is accurate, however, given the effectiveness of the film's suspense in the second act, I imagine that it will. At least, on the level of how pervasive the sensation of fear will be. Also, the performances are quite effective, especially Gibson's endearing quality as a quiet, awkward man. However, the truly noteworthy performances come from the children, who convey an emotional authenticity that is sadly lacking in many contemporary actors.
NEGATIVE: Regrettably, the story is Shayamalan's weakest as an oeuvre piece; the parallels to 'The War of the Worlds' are simply to great, especially towards the end. Secondly, the pace of the film was ineffective; the film moves far too quickly into the plot, when it could have slowly and excruciatingly pulled the viewer into the terror that follows (a lesson many of us have learned from "The Shining"). Thirdly, much of the drama, especially in the ending, seem very heavy-handed: the dialogue is melodramatic and the ending, for all of its energy, is simply too strange. It doesn't seem to fit.
Overall, however, I would wager that only the Cineastes among us who think that "8 1/2" is better than "10" (ha, ha) will be TRULY disappointed. Casual and commercial viewers will definitely take to the film and fall under its spell. Despite its heavy weaknesses, the moments of suspense are first-rate, and are some of the best that I have seen in a long while. Shyamalan has proven himself an efficient storyteller and also a prodigy of suspense, but he still needs work on merging the two together.
Until he succeeds, I still believe that "Unbreakable" will remain his best (if not most underrated) work to date.