Signs: film analysis and themes

Night Shyamalan's 2002 motion picture "Signs" is more about faith than it is about either crop circles or aliens. Although the plot centers around the imminent arrival of extraterrestrial beings and what that arrival entails, the film focuses on the disillusioned Reverend Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson. Following the untimely death of his wife, Hess loses his faith in God and renounces the church. This loss of faith is established early in the film, when he tells the police officer to "please stop calling me Father," and this theme is reexamined throughout the film as Hess confronts the alien presence. Flashbacks and conversations with family members eventually restore Hess's faith in the church. However, religion is only one expression of faith; faith in God and religion is ostensible, but so is the faith in the unseen, in reason, or even in the status quo. Confronted with a foreign, incomprehensible, and frightening reality, various characters in "Signs" develop an individual faith. According to the Gage dictionary, faith means "believing without proof." Therefore, the children and all the people who believe that the signs signal the arrival of extraterrestrials have faith that these beings exist -- even before they witness them. It is not until Graham Hess sees the green, gnarled claw of the alien in Ray Reddy's pantry that the audience -- and Hess -- can believe without a doubt that the aliens exist. "Signs" sets up a definition of faith that encompasses primarily faith in religion, but expands this definition to entail faith in family, in miracles, and in any power greater than material life.

One of the first conversations of the film has Morgan Hess (Rory Culkin) say to his father, "I think God did it," referring to the mysterious circles in the cornfield. Therefore, Shyamalan establishes the theme of the movie early. The crop circles have no rational explanation, and therefore, some supernatural power or God must have had a hand in it. The disillusioned clergyman seems at first to dismiss God's role in the eerie signs. This may seem to indicate a total lack of faith, but instead it shows that faith takes many forms. Instead of placing his faith in God and believing that God had a role in the crop circles, Graham Hess has faith that there will be a scientific explanation. However, it is immediately apparent that the film will eventually progress to reestablish Hess's faith in God. Moreover, Hess has not completely lost faith in powers greater than himself, for his little girl Bo points out that he regularly talks to his dead wife "when you're by yourself." When Bo asks her father why he does this, he responds, "It makes me feel better." This shows that Graham has faith that his wife can hear him, in whatever incorporeal state she is in.

However, Graham proceeds to tell his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) that there are two types of people: those who believe in luck and coincidence, and those who believe in signs. Merrill asserts his belief in signs and miracles: "I am a miracle man," he says. Graham avers his more materialistic beliefs when he states that Colleen's last words to "swing away" were due to nerves firing in her brain randomly. He also firmly states, "There is no one watching out for us." Echoing the conversation Graham and Merrill have about coincidences vs. signs, Reddy (played by M. Night Shyamalan) points out that a tragedy can "make you question your faith." Hess's bitterness about his wife's premature death exhibits Graham's suppressing his faith and transferring it into faith in reason. This misplaced faith corrects itself by the end of the movie, when his wife's last words end up saving the lives of him and his entire family.

A tragedy like Colleen's car accident can commonly cause a lack of faith. In fact, a disillusioned religious man is somewhat of a cliche. Faith, by nature and definition, is tenuous. It is not based on scientific reality, although faith in science is one type of faith. Morgan develops his own faith: belief in the existence of aliens. Soon after he hears mention of the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement in the crop circles and watches the pictures of UFOs on the news, Morgan delves into books on the subject. His faith in other people's explanations leads to him influencing his younger sister and even his uncle. The three of them don foil helmets, showing faith that they will prevent the aliens from reading their minds. Because there is no scientific proof about the helmets or the mind-reading, this is a display of faith.

The "end of the world," a common religious theme, is also alluded to throughout the film. Many people in the film interpret UFOs and crop circles as signaling the end of the world, including Merrill and the pharmacist. The alien presence defies common knowledge and shakes up the status quo. Human beings become used to the predictability of life, and as Morgan states, "everything people have written about in science books is going to change." Faith in the status quo is challenged when confronted with such a magnificent development as UFOs.