Can't wait to see what Shyamalan has for next

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2002)

Don't go into M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" expecting a conventional sci-fi thriller. "Signs" involves circular formations in a farmer's crops that might be the work of aliens. It's scary and suspenseful. But it's not intended as a jolt-a-minute terror-fest, and it's not an "Independence Day"-kind of action-packed man-vs.-aliens war movie.
It's as much a drama about faith as a thriller. Mel Gibson, in one of his best performances, plays Graham Hess, a former minister who turned his back on religion after his wife's death in an accident. He lives a quiet life on a farm 45 miles outside of Philadelphia with his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) and children (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin).
Then things start getting weird. Graham discovers circular patterns and lines cut perfectly into his crops. He and his brother first suspect pranksters.
They're wrong.
When the truth is revealed, the film's characters must face the distinct possibility that they're about to die. "Signs" is about how they react and what they choose to believe. Is life a random series of events? Or does everything have a purpose, with no coincidences? Writer-director Shyamalan boldly takes a stand here, and the result is a series of moving sequences, including a finale that, if it hits you as it did me, will take your breath away.
As he did with the acclaimed "The Sixth Sense" and the underappreciated "Unbreakable," Shyamalan shows in "Signs" that he's a writer who knows how to weave an intricately constructed tale and build to a richly satisfying conclusion, and that he's a sensitive, assured director with a talent for character development and blending humor and tragedy, the supernatural and everyday life.
He also knows how to tell a story visually and with economy. Just watch the opening sequence. We see a photo in Graham's bedroom that indicates he's been married; we see him wake up alone in a single bed; he walks into a hallway and there are kid's drawings on a bedroom door; a wall shows a mark where a cross once hung. All of these shots tell us something, without a word spoken.
Shyamalan also is a good actor. In "Signs" he's excellent as the guilt-stricken man who accidentally killed Graham's wife.

That's just one of many fine performances in the film. Gibson is heartbreaking as a man reeling from his wife's death. Phoenix, taking a break from the more offbeat characters he's often played (such as the villainous emperor in "Gladiator"), gives an impressively natural (and often funny) portrayal as the brother. The kids are believable. And Tony Award-winner Cherry Jones is memorable as a compassionate local police officer.
"Signs" is a great movie. Can't wait to see what Shyamalan comes up with next.