Signs – Communication in Crops
When I first watched Signs, it catapulted toward the top of the list of movies that I truly love. I immediately found the script online and feverishly read it.
The film was Shyamalan’s second biggest box office success, behind only The Sixth Sense. Signs earned almost 230 million in the US alone, great numbers.
Signs is the story of the Hess family after they discover crop circles out in their field. Graham Hess, a former priest, finds his faith on the line when he is forced to consider it may not be a prank from the neighborhood kids. It is a story of family, love, faith, and loss.
Mel Gibson, the patriarch of the family, is six months from the loss of his wife in a car accident, an incident which caused him to leave the clergy after a loss of faith. A compelling character.
His younger brother Merrill, played by Joaquin Phoenix, plays an eccentric former minor league baseball player who holds the record for longest home run (507 yards), but also the record for most strikeouts. “It felt wrong not to swing.” Another compelling character.
The children, an asthmatic boy Morgan, played by Rory Culkin, and the youngest Bo, played by Abigail Breslin, who won’t stop leaving glasses of water around the house. Two more compelling characters.
When the news starts telling stories of aliens landing on Earth, Graham is the Scully to the rest of his family’s Mulder. He searches for other explanations, even illogical ones, clinging to them like his life depends on it. Even after seeing a fleeing alien in his corn field, he can’t accept that this is happening to him.
Merrill, who starts out skeptical, is quickly converted into believing by the news. To him, seeing is believing. The children need no such evidence. They find a book on alien encounters and immediately buy in.
The film does an amazing job at incorporating humor. Even in the most serious scenes, the script doesn’t forget to make the audience laugh. All four of the main actors succeed in this mission. The tone of the film is perfect and everyone involved understood the assignment.
Some of the most highly emotional scenes come when Graham has flashbacks to the night his wife was hit by a car driven by Ray Reddy, portrayed by M Night himself. Graham gets to talk to his wife as she slowly dies. She gives him messages to pass along to her children, Merrill, and Graham himself. It’s a powerful scene, anchored by strong performances.
For the most part, the film does a great job at building suspense through not seeing the aliens beyond a rogue leg or finger. If I had one gripe about the film, when they do see the aliens up close, the CGI and look of the alien isn’t great. Not bad, especially for 2002! Just, not great either.
Obviously this film comes highly recommended by me. I think I’m higher on this one than most, so take my praise with a grain or a whole shaker of salt. I see myself revisiting this one often.
Shyamalan Rankings:
After my ravings above, this should come as no surprise.
- Signs
- The Sixth Sense
- Unbreakable
- Wide Awake
- Praying With Anger
My first hot take! Do you agree with my list? Where would you rank Signs? Sound off in the comments below. Next Friday, M Night’s The Village.
