The Summer of Shyamalan: Signs (2002)

Patrick and Taylor swing away.

Patrick: Taylor, I must admit, this is the first review that I didn't want to write with you - I just know you're going to be a hater!

Taylor: I am a hater for most of these, so I get why you would think that. But it's not that bad! To hate would be to let down my 8-year-old self, who truly thought this was the greatest horror (lol) movie of all time!

Patrick: I think that Signs is probably M. Night's best movie!

Taylor: I would have to agree. It's not the greatest movie ever, but if we're being really honest, he's just not a very good writer or director! This is a good movie. Good for him for not getting too in his own way, as he typically does.

Patrick: I think this is better than that. For starters, I think this is his strongest script. Especially his dialogue, which is often an issue. I only flinched from something stupid said like twice - which is good for him! I think he delivers on the premise's promise, the building of suspense works well, and the themes resonate. Add in a couple of thrills, and you've got a winner!

Taylor: I think that's all true. I'm not hating on this film! I'm just saying that his greatest film by a mile still isn't comparable to some other sci-fi greats. That's okay! I'll give credit where credit is due - I even jumped from a jump scare! Good for him!

Patrick: The pitch is a really specific distant, devoid of feeling, hollow tone. I think that Joaquin is the tone-setter. He's a total chameleon. There's this sense that nobody in the movie ever feels comfortable and he's a master at looking like he feels icky in his own skin. The kids, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin, are too young to understand that delicate tone, but I'll be damned if they don't find it anyway. But I'm just not convinced of Mel Gibson. He almost seems like...too much of a movie star? For a farmer priest widower?

Taylor: He definitely has a very obvious air about him, while the others feel very lived-in. As a self-proclaimed Abigail Breslin stan (Nim's Island was my favorite movie for a very very long time), I can't believe how good she is in this, her debut at just five years old! She has it all going for her. The innocence, the wide eyes, the tears, the giggle! She was born to be a child star and that she was! But you're right in that her star power feels distinctly different to Mel's stardom, or star presence. Joaquin is someone I go back and forth on, especially in his younger years, but his imperfections shine here as someone completely unsure of himself, his place in the universe, and the fate of the world.

Patrick: And Cherry Jones is a real secret weapon! She's in like two scenes and feels more Bucks County than anybody. How is a two-time Tony winner and Emmy winner for roles in 24, The Handmaid's Tale, and Succession still a dark horse? That's an actor's actor.

Taylor: Truly! And I feel that Mel is at his best acting against her because her presence demands that. That's not a diss to his other scene partners throughout the movie, but describing her as an actor's actor is so true. In homage to Chappell Roan, Cherry Jones is your favorite actor's favorite actor!

Patrick: I'd talked about composer James Newton Howard in our Village review but wow. His score opens the movie under some pretty bland opening credits and it immediately got me in the right mood. I wish we still did boring credits made interesting by great scores! I'm starting to want to watch every movie he's ever worked on just so I can hear more from him. (Just kidding, I will never watch Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Side note: Did you realize that they made three of those movies?)

Taylor: (They should have stopped mid-way through filming the first one.) A score can really take a movie from good to great, or from great to truly excellent. I don't know if Signs is quite in great territory for me on this rewatch, but I do think it is beautifully supported by this strong score. M. Night isn't filming a whole lot of visually captivating scenes, but boy oh boy is he DIRECTING. Why look at characters straight on when you could instead see them through a reflection in literally anything that has the ability to reflect?

Patrick: I guess we should address...the water thing...

Taylor: The elephant in the room. Spoilers. Going into this, I remembered that water was what defeated the aliens, so maybe I am a little biased by that knowledge, but holy cow the guy brings up water every 5 seconds in the first half-hour of the movie! We get it, M. Night, it's going to be important later!

Patrick: They don't really harp on it in the moment, so it didn't bother me during the climax. But...yeesh. I know that saying "if the ALIEns ArE AlLeRGic tO WatEr then wHY did tHeY gO to a pLAnEt tHAt's lIkE 70% wATEr" was probably written on Ain't It Cool News in 2002, but also why did they do that. It's weird. I get it, holy water and demons blah blah, but it's such a tight movie without that. Joaquin could've just beat the shit out of him! He hit a home run 507 feet - he can do anything. (Also, no he didn't.)

Taylor: And with a wood bat? Please. M. Night, I'm begging, just do the tiniest bit of baseball research! The movie has a healthy dose of "buts" for me. A lot of it is tight, but the water. The performances are strong, but Mel feels out of place. Nothing tanks the film for me, but they're things I'm aware of.

Patrick: We have one more edition before the release of Night's 2024 film Trap and you got to pick. I absolutely cannot believe that you chose Old. I thought for sure you were going to pick The Visit.

Taylor: At the end of the day, I'm a Nat and Alex Wolff stan 'til I die. So I literally chose it just to tick an Alex Wolff performance off my list. That's it. I'm a simple girl!

Patrick: See you then, folks.

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