M Night Shyamalan's 'Signs,' starring Mel Gibson
'There is no-one watching out for us. We are all on our own'
Feature article by Matthew Hudswell
From the opening scenes where Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and his son Morgan (Rory Culkin) discover crop circles on their land, M Night Shyamalan's 'Signs' lacks that ultimate thriller touch. It's scary but never terrifying; gripping but never memorable. However, it does pose some thought-provoking questions about faith and suffering.
Questions of faith?
Apart from the aliens invading Earth, what is 'Signs' saying? This is not easy to pick up until some way into the film (if then), when we discover that the underlying questions are to do with faith. At one point, Hess tells the shop assistant in his local town
Please stop calling me Father!
This is not explained until near the end of the film, when we are given a clearer picture of Hess's background: he was a minister, who left the church because of the turmoil of losing his wife in a car crash where he had to minister to her as she lay dying at the roadside. His unresolved grief is worked on during the alien invasion and his faith is tested severely. Having survived this attack, he is a changed and restored man.
What kind of person are you? Luck or Signs
As Hess and his brother prepare for the alien attack, Hess claims that people fall into two groups: the first group believe in more than luck; they believe in signs. They believe that there is someone looking out for them, and this gives them hope. The second group only believe in luck, and they feel alone. In the midnight hour, Hess asks his brother the poignant question
What kind of person are you?
But just as Hess seems to be touching on the profound, he answers the last question for his brother, Merrell, in a shallow fashion
There is no-one watching out for us, Merrell. We are all on our own
What kind of God?
The evening meal before the alien attack is reminiscent of the Last Supper but Hess refuses to say a prayer about what might befall them during the night. However, during the time when they are holed-up in the cellar, Hess declares
They know our minds. They know our secret thoughts.
Is he thinking about the aliens, or about God? Is this a portrayal of God as someone coming to invade earth and invade the private space of individual people? Followers of Christ know that God alone has the power to know our thoughts and our minds.
There was little in the film to portray God as an all-powerful, all-loving being who wants to pervade our lives with his love. Maybe, at the end of the film when Hess is restored to his vocation as a minister, the link is made between God, goodness, healing and restoration but it's never explicit. Depending on what we individually believe, it would be easy to miss this theme and draw our own conclusions. In this sense, the film is very pluralistic. It is up to us to make of it whatever we will.
How do we grow and change?
The alien attack induces an asthmatic attack in Hess's son, Morgan. At the end of the asthma attack, the alien noises have stopped and Hess declares to the darkness
I hate you!
Is it the alien, or is it God he hates? Probably God, bearing in mind how he has not resolved his feelings about the death of his wife. Hess talks about God punishing us. But later he returns to the themes he discussed earlier with his brother about two types of people. He sees things in a new way once Morgan's asthma attack has subsided, and says
Believe and do not be afraid
Wow! That's a real re-discovery of faith - and in such a short space of time.
Reconciliation
After the alien attack, and after the flashback to his wife's death, there is real reconciliation. Morgan asks his dad
Did someone save me?
Hess replies
I think someone did
However, it is all left very cryptic. There's no mention of God. We are left to draw our own conclusions based on whatever we believe.
So what is 'Signs' saying?
There are some interesting themes here, but they are not explored in any depth. (This is not surprising, bearing in mind that the business of Hollywood is entertainment. An attack by aliens is more entertaining than someone losing his faith in God over the traumatic death of his wife.) However, beneath the main plot, the questions are about what we believe, why we believe it, and what happens when it is put to the test.
Visit 'Charity's Place' for an excellent longer review article from the viewpoint of a follower of Christ.
Dark Horizons review of 'Signs'
Questions for discussion
- What kind of person are you - Luck or Signs? Many people today believe that someone is in control, but they are reluctant to identify this person as God. (See 'Something There? Understanding the spirituality of people who don't go to church' for more on this)
- What kind of God (if any) is implicit in 'Signs'?
- Is there someone looking out for us? Does God look out for people who are not followers of Christ?
- Does having any kind of faith help us to cope with/make sense of suffering? Does it matter what kind of faith we have?
- Is there any way to choose between different belief systems? Does it matter what we choose?