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Signs (2002)

M. Night Shyamalan has built what appears to be an infinitely promising career by writing and directing stories that take common premises of science fiction and bringing them down to earth (more specifically, down to Pennsylvania), making them matters of fact while hoping that when he pulls the cord and asks us to believe, we are right there with him. His task is a daunting one, because most of us are, by nature, skeptics and the hundreds of filmmakers who have attempted similar feats before him, have failed, with few exceptions. Mr. Shyamalan, the most dynamically original master storyteller to emerge in recent years (Mark Pellington and Paul Thomas Anderson are hot on his tail), has made three major commercial movies (the first two, 1992's Praying with Anger and 1998's Wide Awake are negligible) and we can break them down topically into three tried and true stand-bys of Sci-fi. In order of appearance: A "Ghost" story (The Sixth Sense), a "Superhero" movie (Unbreakable) and now with Signs, he handles the "Alien Invasion" film. Ghosts, Superheroes, and Aliens. Quickly, run through your head all the "Ghost" movies you have seen - some were pretty good (Ghost, What Lies Beneath, The Others) and some were pretty bad (Always, House on Haunted Hill, Heart Condition) and some were the best movie ever made according to rabbinical student Ben Skydell (Casper). Without hesitation, I can say that The Sixth Sense is unlike any "Ghost" movie ever made before it, and not only because of that wicked twist finale. Shyamalan has developed an entirely fresh method of storytelling - a combination of laboriously slow pacing, child phenom acting (All three movies have young boys who look and act alike - eerily mature), and dialogue spoken in somber tones of coarse straightforwardness to create a cinematic mosaic tiled in grays, and whites, but mostly, in blacks. Each scene is a small, self-important piece. We fade into a scene and the camera is just somewhere it has never been before, some lines are spoken, perhaps not a word is uttered - we see something - it bothers us deep in our stomach and we are not sure why - maybe we are about to figure it out - the scene fades away like a phantom. Each piece is constructed in this same manner and each piece has a purpose, because Shyamalan is always and without a doubt leading somewhere. The only question is: Are we following? Do we believe?

I found it amusing in an unsettling sense that America latched onto and embraced so readily The Sixth Sense (which was a real credit to our sophisticated taste) and yet when Unbreakable was released, a film in which Shyamalan proved resoundingly that he was for real; the reception was mixed. All of a sudden, the believers were at the office or stuck in elevators. "I mean, ghosts are one thing, but superheroes standing next to me at the check out line - not wearing costumes - not in a city with a fictional name, but in Philly - not with muscles bulging from regions unknown - not landing here from another planet or created by mutation or a tormented vigilante, but simply a man who is biologically gifted from a higher power and therefore destined to stop a biologically cursed man ….nah….do you expect me to believe that?" Hell yes I expect you to believe that!! When that story is told, or rather painted, with such sensitivity to detail and character complexity- when the film never corrupts itself with a single false moment- when a director is so clearly saying, "don't worry, relax, I got you" - then yes, we should not deny him! Unbreakable was the best film of 2000 in my humble opinion.

It is always difficult to follow a masterpiece (I know this from personal experience after peeking with my review for Heartbreakers). Signs is M. Night's way of asking us to expand our minds a bit more. He has used the gradual approach method in preparing us for Signs, like a man swallowing increasing doses of poison over a long period of time to develop an immunity (Incontheivable!!). Ghosts were easy enough to digest; after all, many people speak to them everyday. Superheroes are a bit more difficult but still within range because we can conceptualize a real life hero, whether it be a policeman or a fireman or Shane Spencer of the New York Yankees. Aliens, on the other hand and no pun intended, are out there.

I guess it wouldn't be prudent to go into the specifics of how Aliens play into the story (for those still looking to see the film) but I don't think I am ruining anything by saying that this film is about how, in a semi-realistic sense, humans might deal with an alien invasion.

I say semi-realistic with caution, because up until now Shyamalan has fought courageously to portray the unearthly as the mundane. The movie opens with throwback, ultra-dramatic Hitchcockian string music, apparently a nod to the maestro of suspense, but also, as we will learn soon, as a means of telling us that the film is looser than Shyamalan's previous work - there is more room for experimentation here.

We are in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on a farm where a Priest who gave up the cloth, Graham Hess (Mel Gibson), lives with his two cherubic kids, Morgan (Rory Culkin, who now looks like he is going in the Macauly route after a strong performance in You Can Count on Me) and Bo (the darling Abigail Breslin) and his ordinary brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), who came to live with family after Graham's wife was killed in a car accident. With this film, there is no time for a drawn out build up to the crisis or time to learn the characters' natures before the action begins. The story covers so many topics of theology and philosophy that the action needs to begin immediately for everything to fit, and character development takes place along the way. So the crop circle (a geometric pattern engraved into a corn filed via bending stalks, supposedly a true life event that some believe indicate extra-terrestrial life, others believe a vast nerd conspiracy) is discovered off the bat and we spend the next two hours learning exactly what the circle does indicate. The mystery in that regard is solid because we are interested in whether the green men are about to take over. The problem is everything else. M. Night fails to engage us by his many layers, his character quirks, his usually sure fire details. An interwoven and, in Shyamalan's mind, crucial line of the movie is found in the former priest's questions about G-d and whether there is, "anyone looking out for us". I realize it is difficult to come up with killer endings time and time again, but the resolution in Signs is truly unoriginal (especially if you read Stephen King - in fact, the script steals one note form King's short story "The Rainy Season" and lifts the major theme of the movie - purpose and destiny - directly from "It" - and even treats it in the same way.) Sometimes it appears as though Mr. Shyamalan used the "War of The Worlds" premise (a 1953 alien invasion movie, given a plug in Signs) just to bring out his own thoughts on the "Is there a G-d" question - and the fit is comfortable, but I think he over reached here. Also, his theological debates are rather shallow and conventional - sometimes it is better to leave the surface alone - the scratch ain't necessary. The film is still quite good due to M. Night's having so much going on and aiming for excellence on every front, that even if twenty or twenty-five percent stalls, we still get eighty percent superb.

The big scores here are the tension or, eh, the "scary parts" and the surprising amount of comedy (sometimes at the sitcom level.) Unfortunately, these to elements don't play well off each other. The comedy is too broad to fit into a thrilling fright picture and the fright is too intense and serious to mix with the sometimes B-movie minor characters and comedy (even Michael Showalter of "The State" is in there). So you will find yourself laughing joyfully and cringing fearfully with only moments in between each to recuperate. True the ending is a bummer, and true the "Alien" movie is not as gripping as the "Ghost" or "Superhero" films, but we still owe Mr. Shyamalan our believing hearts and just know that this movie is not a sign of things to come.

Note to Mr. Shyamalan: Please do not put yourself in any more of your movies that take place on farms in rural America. You cannot play "Ray" the local drunk. You look like Apu from The Simpsons and seeing you trying to act all redneckish is distracting. Unless your next film takes place in India, leave yourself out of it.

Reader's Dialogue #2 (Minority Report is retroactively being called #1)
Q: You don't need to be Hawking or Hubbard to take a stab at this one. Do you think Judaism and our beliefs in G-d and creation allow room for alien life? Bonus: If alien life were proven, would that alter your feelings about religion?

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