Signs
Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable) hits another home run with Signs. In the same way that a movie like Jurassic Park surprised you with a ridiculous and funny setup that shifted gears into terror, Signs tickles the viewer with scenes of Graham Hess (Mel Gibson)’s children being silly. Little Julie comes into her dad’s room reporting that there’s a monster under her bed. Little Joey outfits he and his sister with aluminum foil hats that look like giant Hershey Kisses, all of which make the viewer feel like a parent, dismissing the notions of children. All of this changes, of course, when the aliens are seen by the senior characters. The most compelling story in the movie, however, is the issue of loss of faith by Hess. Once a man of the cloth, his defensive-induced rejection of faith angers and really impacts those around him. Besides the typical survival mode, the moviegoer finds him or herself rooting for Hess to embrace his faith once more. Truly inspirational, cosmic, comic, and scarey. [ Touchstone / Doug Van Pelt ]
Ratings:
obscenities 6
scenes of violence 0.5
nude scenes 0
% spiritual relevancy 100
Copyright (c) 2003 HM Magazine.
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