Good execution of a very weak plot

Rating: 4/10 (21 August 2002)

This is a beautifully made movie, Shyamalan is clearly a good director as he brings out solid work from his actors, and creates a suspenseful and even somewhat insightful film from a B-movie plot. The cinematography is beautiful as well. However, the plot is weak, no matter the angle one sees it from. Is it a film about a person's quest for spirituality and meaning in life's twists and turns? Is it a film about aliens? Whichever one of the two somewhat ill-fitting plot lines is so superficially developed as to be laughable. The alien plot line is so full of holes that I found myself laughing out loud.
Pity, as the director clearly has a lot of talent at creating a consistent atmosphere of tension through clever management of subtlety (which is refreshing). I see Shyamalan also wrote this film. He should stick to directing only. Not a film I would recommend to anyone. Maybe on video.