(Pretty strong argument for city living, eh?)
CAST: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Kieran Culkin, Cherry Jones, Abigail Breslin.
DIRECTOR: M. Night Shymalan
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and questionable use of tin foil - straight ahead…
My father grew up on a farm and had fond memories of it. That fact, plus the fact that FIELD OF DREAMS made living on a farm look like the shiznit, was enough to make me basically pine for my own little 50 acres in Michigan or Minnesota. There’s just something about growing your own food that appeals to an independent, self-reliant dickhead like me. Besides, you’d never go hungry. As long as you don’t get lazy, that is.
If FIELD OF DREAMS is the movie that makes living on a farm look like a slice of paradise, our latest review is the film that basically tosses a bucket of kerosene on that idea and chases it down with a lit match. That film is SIGNS, and it portrays an alien invasion as seen from the rather isolated perspective of a guilt-ridden farmer and his equally troubled clan.
Mel Gibson plays Rev. Graham Hess, a dude who recently lost his wife Colleen (Patricia Kalember) in a particularly gruesome car accident that basically severs her in half. That doesn’t stop her, though, from whispering some significant parting words to him. Words that will play an important role in the movie later. Hence my use of the adjective “significant” to describe them. A-fucking-hem, folks…
Anyhow, Reverend G. lives on his farm with: (1) his has-been baseball player brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), (2) his know-it-all son Morgan (Rory Culkin), and (3) his preciouser-than-precious daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin). These folks are barely getting by in the wake of Colleen’s death when strange things start to happen. To wit, we witness the following heebie-jeebie shite: (1) crop circles start showing up in Rev. G’s fields, (2) Bo’s baby monitor starts picking up some bizarre - to say the least - transmissions; and (3) unseen prowlers start, uh, prowling around their property. Not exactly the kind of stuff you’d expect to find in Hee-Haw country. Not even close.
Then things get even worse, if you can even imagine, when news reports reach Graham and his family that - GASP! - alien ships have appeared in the skies above major cities around the world. To make things even more interesting (read: fucked-up), footage surfaces from Argentina of an “alien” sighting. Based on this grainy video, these inter-galactic interlopers look like… gangly human dudes wearing alien costumes that look like half-off rentals from the local party store.
What exactly is going on here? Is there an alien invasion afoot? Or is it all in the minds of the Rev. G. and his family? If it is an invasion, what can they do to stop it? Do all the strange occurrences on the Hess farm have anything to do with what is happening in the rest of the world? What secret knowledge from Rev. G.’s past can he use to stop the mayhem? Specifically, what role does Colleen have in the ensuing drama? Will Graham find it out in time? Or is his farm - and the planet Earth - pretty much toast?
Hard to say. Let’s just say that condo living in the big, swinging city is starting look more and more appealing after watching this movie…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Say what you want about M. Night Shymalan, but there is no denying the man has talent. Yes, he has often come across as just a tad egotistical in interviews, and has attracted a pack of rabid haters because of it. The fact remains, though, that all one has to do is watch any film from his oeuvre to see that this guy has something special.
THE SIXTH SENSE was supremely overrated, and I saw its twist coming from a mile away because it was reminiscent of one of my favorite books (James Herbert’s “The Survivor”). Yet, I admired Shymalan’s sensitive treatment of this potentially hoary subject matter (a kid who can see dead people) and how he transformed in into a chronicle of a boy coming to terms with a gift that is both a blessing and a curse - instead of the horror schlockfest that it could’ve been. UNBREAKABLE suffered from a rather truncated twist that was not as clever as Shymalan clearly believed it to be. But there were moments of pure dread in it that Hitchcock would have envied - specifically, the scenes where Bruce Willis character saves the imperiled family from the killer in their house. THE VILLAGE was an even better film - better than even THE SIXTH SENSE in my estimation - that tried to tell an old-fashioned story through emotional terms and not flashy ones. Perhaps that’s why it misfired and underperformed critically and commercially.
Bottom line, as controversial and often exasperating as Shymalan can come across, the man has never taken the easy route. His films are always rich in character, subtext, and feeling. They may ultimately be imperfect, but they are certainly more accomplished in their imperfect form than half the polished garbage that gets released these days.
SIGNS is no exception. Instead of going the bombastic route of INDEPENDENCE DAY, BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, or SKYLINE, this films cleverly tells the tale of how an isolated community witnesses a global invasion from outer space. In this regard, SIGNS is kind of similar to TESTAMENT, the 1983 film about a small town that suffers that aftermath of a Nuclear War. As with TESTAMENT, the terror builds gradually: first, through rumors and scattered news reports from the outside world, then later, through much more immediate and horrifying first-hand experiences of the madness that is slowly destroying the world - and has now invaded their community.
Shymalan instinctively understands that what you cannot see is far more frightening than what you can. Sigmund Freud once said, “Mankind’s greatest emotion is fear - and mankind’s greatest fear is fear of the unknown.” SIGNS scarily brings that to life. As Graham and his family gradually become aware of the sinister presence on their farm, we never glimpse more than they do - which puts us right in their shoes and allows our fear to build along with theirs. It’s a brave move on Shymalan’s part to keep so much hidden in this age of “Show me! Show me! Show me! Show me!”, but it works wonderfully. What makes SIGNS a good film is how well it exploits our fears of the unseen and the unknown.
Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Cherry Jones, Abigail Breslin, and Rory Culkin comprise the major cast, and they all turn in solid, compelling performances. Shymalan allows them to breathe life and flesh out their characters. Another director might have limited or even excised all the “character-building” scenes, and substituted them with flashy and explicit “alien” scenes - to the ultimate detriment of the film. Fortunately, Shymalan has enough confidence in his characters and their stories to let them take free rein.
SIGNS would have rated higher than good (***½) if it weren’t for one little quibble: this film addresses both Graham’s crisis of faith in God, and how he regains it, but also the idea of life forms from other planets. Isn’t that a bit of a contradiction - or conundrum? Isn’t the existence of God (religion) in direct conflict with the existence of aliens (science)? This little nit-noid is what keeps SIGNS from rating higher.
All in all, however, SIGNS is an admirable attempt to tell an alien invasion story from not only an atypical viewpoint, but also ground it in an emotionally-resonant place. While Graham’s faith problems ultimately do not jive with the threat at hand, it doesn’t pose a problem in the moment. And that’s enough to make SIGNS a rewarding and harrowing ride.
