In M. Night Shyamalan's Science-Fiction drama Signs, he presents us with the concept the everyone and everything has a purpose. Starring in the main roles we see Mel Gibson as Graham Hess; a former minister who has lost his faith after the death of his wife, and Joaquin Phoenix as Merrill; Graham's quirky, but loyal brother. Also starring in Signs we see Abigail Breslin as Bo; the youngest child, who has strange dreams that would come to predict the future, and Rory Culkin as Morgan, Graham's oldest child, who is convinced from the beginning of the story that the crop circles in their corn field are caused by aliens. The film is set in modern day rural Pennsylvania on a farm.
Graham Hess (Gibson) awakes one morning to find unidentified crop circles in his corn field, and decides to pass it off as a prank. That night, his daughter Bo (Breslin) sees a 'monster' outside her window. Graham passes it off as a nightmare until he sees a figure of someone standing on the barn roof. The next day, Bo sees more crop circles on every TV station. Later, Morgan (Culkin) uses Bo's old baby monitor to listen to what he believes is the aliens communicating with one another. The following morning, Ray Reddy (played by Shyamalan), the man who killed Graham's wife calls and asks to meet with Graham. Upon arriving at Reddy's home, he finds Reddy with a bloody shirt saying that he has trapped an alien in his pantry. Graham goes into the house and uses a knife to view a reflection of the alien. A clawed hand reaches out from beneath the pantry door, startling Graham, and he ends up cutting off two of it's fingers. Back at home, Graham and his family board up the doors and windows in anticipation of an alien attack. I'll leave the most suspenseful and exciting scenes to be revealed by the film itself.
You couldn't have asked for better actors for the main roles in Signs. The actors were able to keep a light humor while not taking away from the suspense. Like when Graham comes home after chopping off an alien's fingers to find his brother, son, and daughter all sitting on the couch in the living room with foil helmets on their heads. This moment makes you grin and chuckle, but when the camera goes back to Graham's face, you immediately feel the intensity of the suspense and fear. The actors also had a wonderful on-screen chemistry. For example, the dinner scene alone was enough to bring you to tears as you watch Bo, Morgan, Graham, and Merrill embrace for what they believe is to be the last time.
"Everyone and everything has a purpose" is the perfect theme to describe this moving film. Man kind is always searching for a feeling of belonging. We want to have a sense of purpose, and that we exist for a reason. In Signs, M. Night Shyamalan shows us that even though at times we lose our faith, that miracles still occur and it's those miracles that can restore our faith. For instance, after Graham's wife is killed, he loses his faith and quits his job as a minister. But after Morgan survives an asthma attack, Graham's faith is restored and he resumes his job as a minister.
This film would be a terrific choice is the viewer is looking for a boost of faith and hope in miracles. Or just someone looking for a suspenseful thriller with aliens. Shyamalan did an outstanding job managing to keep the two themes balanced in the film, as well as throwing a bit of humor and drama in the mix. Overall, Signs is a touching nail-biter with a perfectly chosen cast and great hidden messages and themes that keep you thinking long after the film is over.
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