Excellent piece of filmmaking

Rating: 10/10 (27 August 2002)

(Spoilers may be included) My mother summed up M. Night films: they're about death in various forms. "The Sixth Sense" was about a dead man who didn't know he was, "Unbreakable" was about a man who couldn't die, and "Signs" is about a man who is spiritually dead.
In the latest from M. Night, "Signs", we're faced with a man who has lost his way and finds it again through the signs that he finally sees around him, signs that we all have around us and fail to see. He is forced to see them because of the coming invasion just like we would be if the same thing was happening to us.
Because the film focuses on just this one family it makes me, the audience, feel like its happening to me. By cutting out other families and only giving information that it is a worldly invasion via the television, M. Night has shown me what it would be like if it was really occurring. It doesn't matter that the world is being invaded, just my little world - my house, my family - that matters. This film explores that feeling of isolation beautifully.
The cast is extraordinary. As with Bruce Willis in M. Night's other films, Mel Gibson has achieved stillness in this film and he gives a riveting performance. Joaquin Phoenix is wonderful as the underachiever, Merrill, who saves the day and the children (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin) steal this picture.
Some people have stated that the ending ruins the film. I found it a perfect ending for a magnetic film. All the clues are there from the beginning to the end and they tie up in a great ending as Gibson's character finally understands what all the signs were telling him.
So see this film! It is a beautiful piece of work.