Monkey Diaries Archive

This past weekend I saw one of the two movies I wanted to see. Signs. It was, as has been the case with every M. Night Shyamalan movie to date, extraordinary. There are few filmmakers that have captured a truly original storytelling technique. Hitchcock had it throughout his career. Tarantino had but has since lost it. M. Night Shyamalan currently has it in spades. In case you're not familiar, M. Night Shyamalan is responsible for two of the most memorable films in the last 10 years: The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Granted, they both starred the underappreciated thespian Bruce Willis but that's not why I like them (although that fact helped). Both films (as well as Signs) shared one thing in common--vastly superior writing and storylines. And for those who see it and just don't get it, write to me and I'll help you with all the big words. That said, Graham Hess (Mel Gibson), plays a recently retired pastor (and widow, which is essentially the reason he is no longer wearing the collar). Hess, who owns a farm in Bucks County, PA., wakes up one day to find mysterious crop circles in his field. His brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), and children, Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin), are as confused by the mysterious crop circles and offer a variety of explanations, all of which we've all heard before. Slowly, the mysterious circles begin to trouble each of their daily lives and routines. As is the case with most situations in which you say to yourself, "this can't be happening," the true impact of the situation isn't realized by Hess and his family until it's essentially too late. Shyamalan proves himself to be a master of suspense the likes of which hasn't been seen on celluloid since Hitchcock. The film builds on new discoveries and identifications until discerning between imagination and reality becomes rather difficult. This type of film is definitely the kind of experience in which you have to suspend reality to enjoy both the story and film itself. If you can't do that, I would usually suggest that you don't bother buying a ticket. But Shyamalan creates such seemless experience, mixing the realms of fact and fiction that it becomes genuinely scary. Most people I've talked to didn't even notice making the transistion between the two realms. The main reason it works is because Shyamalan trusts his actors to take the ride along with the audience, never revealing too much while not being too stingy for the sake of surprise. The acting was outstanding including Mel Gibson who was well-suited for this role. Joaquin Phoenix also proves that his turn as Commodus in Gladiator wasn't a fluke... the boy can just plain act and pulls off a fine performance as they younger, wilder Hess brother. the two Hess offspring, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin are perfect. If you've got an extra $9.50, don't wait for the DVD, catch this one on the big screen.