Ruined by an unfeasibly poor Mel Gibson "performance"

Rating: 6/10 (9 September 2002)

Right, lets get this straight; M Night Shyamalan is a fantastic film maker. He is subtle, clearly has respect for his audience, and tells stories that are always deeply rooted in exploring the potential realism of the work of a fantastical imagination. There is nobody like him currently working in the business. His work deserves to be celebrated.
'Signs' is no different. But, it is kept back from greatness by perhaps its greatest (financial) asset; Mel Gibson. While Joaquin Phoenix is truly excellent in the film, Gibson is overwhelmingly poor. And therein lies the problem. Phoenix is an actor and Gibson is a movie star. His performance (as a priest struggling with his faith no less) was abominable. He still walked, talked and acted as if he was supposed to be a hero. Not a man trying to come to terms with his ethical and religious decisions. He merely toned himself down. And left us with far too many pregnant silences which hinted at a pretension that simply wasn't there. The man cannot act. Its that simple.
And this was truly a shame, because there was so much to admire about this film. The ending was overly hokey, but as far as flaws go, thats it. The film was expertly crafted, fascinating, and all of the performances shone brightly. Bar you know who.
Such a shame!