Signs by design

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2002)

M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" was totally unexpected, not with respect to the ending, but rather for it's funny and quirky style in the midst of a story structured for great apprehension and fear of the unknown. Ultimately Shyamalan has created a parable about the nature of faith, and that things happen by design. The fact the Shyamalan does all this in one movie is an amazing accomplishment.
Mel Gibson is a Graham Hess, who is a farmer in town in Pennsylvania. He has two children, Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin). We soon learn that Graham was an Episcopal priest, who left when his wife was killed in an accident. Also Graham's brother, Merrill, is also living on the farm helping him out with his kids. One of the Signs appears in Graham's corn fields. They are the kind we saw in the 1970's that were supposedly used my ancient astronauts (i.e. aliens) to navigate earth. Strange things are happening. Dogs are going crazy. Bo says that her glasses of water taste funny. Soon after spaceships appear all over the world-- all on TV. Do they come in peace?
Mel Gibson gives one of his best performances. As Graham he is suffering, and not only has he lost his faith, but even has it that God has betrayed him. There is an awesome scene in the movie where Graham and Merrill are watching new reports of the spaceships. Graham says that there are two camps when it comes to "signs": one group sees the wonder of it, because they believe in something by design, the other fears the end of the world, because they see that they are ultimate all alone. Both are generated. And Graham falls in the latter. Gibson's character is struggling, and he makes his plight so noble and human. This makes the movie worth watching. The interesting thing about "Signs" is that along with the tension and apprehension created for the possible aliens, it is not really that necessary to the story. And this actually makes "Signs" special, because it is really about Graham's life and his family.
Shyamalan surprises us in the end in a paradoxical way, in terms of our expectations. It is satisfying and honors the integrity of the characters he made us care about, particularly Gibson's Graham. "Signs" is a very good movie.