Signs is a masterpiece to those who have eyes to See

Rating: 10/10 (4 July 2003)

With three major movies under his belt M. Night Shyamalan has quickly made a name for himself as one of the premier directors of the budding 21st century. Not since the relatively recent works of David Fincher have I been so taken and impressed with a director's vision, his output. And Signs, a relatively small, claustrophobic flick, even more so than Shyamalan's previous two, is somehow all the more powerful, and explosive, and ultimately rewarding for this sense of isolation. It is a brilliantly structured film. Fincher and Shyamalan are called the Hitchcocks of a brave new day, and I consider that praise well deserved for both directors.

But Shyamalan's works are too uniquely his own, too uniquely genre and classification defying, to be summed up with the word hitchcockian. Shyamalan tells movies, that walk the dark hinterlands of the human heart and imagination. His works are neither thrillers, nor sci-fi, nor drama, nor horror, nor strictly fantasy but are some new and strange stew of elements. His works refuse to be pigeon-holed.
And that, as you can tell has made him fans, but that has also in a world that lives and dies by labels has made him detractors. People have the right to like and dislike, what they want. But in some of the negative posts here, the venom and attacks seem almost personal. Less attacks on the work, than attacks on the idea of the work. A film is fantasy people, the best film requires your willingness to be fooled, to help suspend disbelief. It just seems a lot of you go into a Shyamalan film looking for flaws, as if you're offended personaly because his movies are so well received, and are looking to tear it down, lookin to fight the movie, and I'm going to tell you right now, a movie that you want to hate, you'll hate. A movie is like a date, its better when both parties try to make it work.
You go into Signs wanting to read the signposts, and you will find a delicate, beautiful, haunting and brilliantly directed film, and yes it has a message. And yes there is a wide doe-eyed, capraesque quality to the films of Shyamalan. A vein of hope and humanity, a belief in them that runs through his works. And for me that's what makes his work masterpieces. I tend to think everything, everything has a message, from the most innane slasher flick, to the stupidest comedy, everything has a message, most messages translate into follow the crowd, or be as dumb as you want to be, or shoot the other guy, but Shyamalan presents us, in the case of Signs, a much more layered message. The ending if you let it, will hit you like a truck stop, will build on you, will grow on you, and will stay with you long, long after you leave the theater. It's the work of a master craftsman, no moment wasted.
And great kudos must be given to the brilliant soundtrack by James Newton Howard, track 5 "Brazil" ranks up there with Goblin's "Mad Puppet" as one of the great horror compositions.
Ranks perfectly between Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. 9/10. One of my favorite films of 2002. And looking forward to his next film. M. Night keep up the great work.