SIGNS

BEUNA VISTA

RELEASED 13 September 2002

When a crop circle appears overnight in one of farmer Graham Hess’ (Mel Gibson) fields in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, he believes it to be the work of local pranksters, unlike his two young children (Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin) who are convinced they have been left a sign by extra-terrestrial intelligence. Graham’s brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), plays devils advocate, not quite sure where the truth lies. In the following couple of days, mysterious events cause the family to fear for their safety. Rolling news reports on the television are showing unexplainable events from around the world. Is the world on the brink of something life-changing or is there another answer?

The title ‘Signs’ alludes to a few of the film’s layers, one being the crop signs that they find in their yard and the signs that are happening around the world. But it is also about faith and the existence of signs from above. Gibson’s Farmer Hess has all but given up on the second type of signs, six months previously giving up his life as an Episcopalian minister due to a freak tragedy, and he’s clearly still facing his demons every day. He won’t let the townsfolk call him Father. Gibson’s performance perfectly captures a man unsure of his beliefs.

Merrill harbours his own melancholy, much of which seems to stem from his failed career as an athlete. He holds the minor league home run record, but also holds the strike-out record. So he’s evaluating his own life and wondering why he’s back in this small town. Joaquin Phoenix, strongly aided by the talented children, comes across very well, even actually looking like somewhat like Mel Gibson.

From the Hitchcock-style opening credits to the very end, ‘Signs’ is a classy production. Like director M. Night Shyamalan’s previous blockbusters (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable), outwardly the film appears to be concerned with the supernatural, but in fact it’s about the minutiae of love and family life. Crafted as a psychological thriller, it is always suspenseful, with characters comparable to the everyday person, which really heighten the emotional factor. It has echoes of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers,’ ‘The Birds’ and ‘Night of The Living Dead’, and definitely has a sense of restraint not shown in most modern film-makers canon. The film is gorgeously photgraphed by Tak Fujimoto (The Silence of the Lambs, The Sixth Sense) and composer James Newton Howard hands in his most emotional, exciting, and resonant score to date.

If you’re looking for an ‘Independence Day’-style action movie, this won’t be you. This is more like ‘Close Encounters’ from a small-town family viewpoint. It’s thoroughly involving, and you’re never quite sure what you are seeing is real or not. Is someone playing a massive hoax on the farmers’ family, and have we also been taken along for the ride? You’ll have to go and see!

THREE OUT OF FIVE