M. Night the next Spielberg? Too early to tell. But the signs point...

Rating: 8/10 (6 August 2002)

...to him going in the direction of having something of that influence down the line. M goes at it, unlike Spielberg, largely through his script work, the way he puzzle together the elements of character, dialogue, structure. Often, the epiphany of his work is the coming together of all the elements which crystalizes into his point. The glasses of water all over the house, the little boy's asthma, the strike out king...all these elements climax into Gibson's character's absolution. The leads are all wonderfully written and performed. There are scenes that stand out in my mind but given the Spielberg proclamation (made by Time or Newsweek, I don't recall), the one that stands tallest is the dinner table one where Gibson finally starts to go to pieces. Thinking back on it now, I don't remember if mashed potatoes were involved, but it did play like a rift on Spielberg and Dreyfuss'dinner scene in "Close Encounters."