Signs

This B movie with noble aspirations is the work of a gifted filmmaker whose storytelling falls short of his considerable stylistic flair. While addressing crises of faith in the framework of an alien-invasion thriller, M. Night Shyamalan (in his follow-up to The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable) favors atmospheric tension over explanatory plotting. He injects subtle humor into expertly spooky scenes, but the story suffers from too many lapses in logic. The film's faults are greatly compensated by the performance of Mel Gibson as a widower whose own crisis of faith coincides with the appearance of mysterious crop circles in his Pennsylvania cornfield... and hundreds of UFOs around the globe. With his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) and two young children (Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin), the lapsed minister perceives this phenomenal occurrence as a series of signs and portents, while Shyamalan pursues a spookfest with War of the Worlds overtones. It's effective to a point, but vaguely hollow at its core. --Jeff Shannon

The key component of this Vista Series DVD is a six-part documentary about the making of the film from idea to theatrical release. M. Night Shyamalan talks at length about the film and his filmmaking technique in this exclusive one-hour feature. The approach is straightforward but at times is as self-congratulatory as a marketing puff piece. Because Shyamalan works so leanly, the five deleted scenes are excellent, including a chilling scene from the film's final act. Also included are storyboard comparisons and another glimpse of one of Shyamalan's early home movies. Signs is the first of the Vista Series to be a single disc and the extras seem light, but there are only a couple of quibbles: the director again does not provide a commentary track and there is no DTS soundtrack. --Doug Thomas

Surnaturel, angoisse, suspense et enfance, avec l’Amérique moyenne en toile de fond : dans Signs, M. Night Shyamalan utilise les ingrédients simples mais efficaces qui ont fait le succès de ses films précédents, The Sixth Sense et Unbreakable. Mais ici, Bruce Willis a été remplacé par Mel Gibson.

Graham Hess, ancien pasteur, vit sur sa ferme, en Pennsylvanie, avec ses deux enfants et son frère. Depuis la mort de sa femme dans un accident de voiture, il a perdu la foi. Lorsqu’il découvre que le gigantesque symbole, tracé à même son champ, a également été tracé aux quatre coins de la planète, ce sont ses propres convictions et croyances qu’il devra affronter.

Les références à Hitchcock pleuvent, mais Signs n’a pas l’envergure d’une œuvre du maître du suspense. Car même si M. Night Shyamalan sait ménager ses effets de surprise, que Mel Gibson et Joaquin Phoenix sont sobres et convaincants et que le film soulève des questions philosophiques sur le rôle de la religion, Signs pâtit d’un suspense créé à grands coups de sursauts et d’une finale flirtant un peu trop avec du grand guignol. Certes, c’est aussi efficace que lorsqu’on suit une recette, mais on ne peut s’empêcher de regretter le manque de finesse et d’originalité du résultat. --Helen Faradji

SIGNS


Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 0000-00-00
Media Type: DVD

SKU:GMDB2259382