Signs offers a new perspective on alien invasion...

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2002)

I found this movie to be an interesting take on the alien invasion theme. We witness the startling events unfolding around the world through the eyes of a widowed Philadelphia farmer and his family. An aging Mel Gibson plays Graham Hess, a former minister who has lost his faith in God after the tragic death of his wife. Rory Culkin, yet another talented sibling of Macauley Culkin, plays his son, Morgan. Newcomer Abigail Breslin plays his youngest child, Bo. Both children are a pleasure to watch on screen, a rarity indeed!
Joaquin Phoenix plays Merill, who has come to live with his older brother Graham after the untimely death of his wife six months prior. I can't say enough about the quality of this fine actor. Ever versatile, Joaquin is perfect in this role as a young man who after a promising career in baseball is cut short has lost another kind of faith...faith in himself.
M. Night Shyamalan weaves his story for us with color and imagery in the eerie style of his other thrillers, "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable". Shyamalan continues with his method of using repetitive visual clues to foreshadow the direction his film will take you. The familiar themes of fate, loss, and faith are brought before us once again for re-examination. As we observe the invasion from the perspective of one family, the fact that they are cut off from the rest of the world adds a very realistic and personal tone to the experience.
In the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock, Shyamalan loves to insert himself in his films, albeit in small but pivotal roles that are much more visible than Hitchcock's brief cameos.
My only complaint is that Shyamalan sometimes takes the odd camera angles and philosophizing so far as to become a distraction and a bit pretentious. But overall, I think this movie is worth seeing. I give it a B+.