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SIGNS by Tom McCurrie
Did you like "Show and Tell" in grade school? Me, too. But what if they just called it "Tell?" It'd be kinda boring, wouldn't it? Especially if you couldn't show what you were telling about.
That's my problem with M. Night Shyamalan's SIGNS -- it tells but doesn't show, with often frustrating results.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead!)
Mel Gibson plays a former Man of God who lives on a farm the size of the Ponderosa with his loser brother and two-cute-as-a-button kids. Mel seems to spend more time pining over his dead wife than husking corn, but that all stops when some pesky crop circles pop up. It turns out this isn't a gag, either -- it's the harbinger of an alien invasion.
Now this first section is pretty damn good. Shyamalan slowly doles out the info about this invasion, creating a sense of foreboding that is well nigh unbearable. And Mel does a fine job as the fallen reverend, proving that his acting chops are as sharp as ever. (If only Shyamalan's acting were as good -- this guy gives a performance so wooden you could make an endtable out of it. I think we should have a moratorium on directors acting in their own flicks. What's next, George Lucas playing the Bearded Jedi in EPISODE 3?)
Every screenplay promises something, and SIGNS is no exception -- like a money back guarantee at Best Buy, you can count on seeing a worldwide invasion of little green men by the end credits. Maybe an overused cinematic staple, but still a pretty cool one, especially (you would think) in the hands of a talent like Shyamalan. But Shyamalan doesn't deliver.
Why? Because he never shows the invasion. We get creepy crop circles and portentous news reports, but that's it. In fact, most of the alien attack occurs off-screen, which is especially maddening. It's like watching INDEPENDENCE DAY without the action, effects and fun. What we do get is Mel and his family trapped in the basement as the (not-so) little green men rattle the doors outside. The only time we see one of the aliens close up is at the very end of the picture, and this one's no threat because he's wounded and alone.
Now don't get me wrong. Sometimes not showing things can be way cool. A darkened room or a creaking noise can send shivers up our spines because our imaginations can run away with us.
But if you promise something as specific as an invasion, you better show more than a few green hands trying to claw into the basement. Otherwise the audience will feel gypped. Imagine NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD without ever seeing the zombies. Not too creepy, is it? Sometimes more is more; showing the aliens' faces and the scale of their army would have inspired enough horror and fear for ten movies.
More importantly, film is a visual medium. We expect the story to be shown to us, not told via news reports. And a few static shots of crop circles or quick glimpses of alien gams don't solve the problem.
Of course, Shyamalan could counter that SIGNS is really a character drama, not a sci-fi movie. It's about a man regaining his faith, not about laser attacks and flying saucers. So the tight focus on Mel is the way to go.
That may be true, but since Mel's character redeems himself by defeating said aliens, the redemption only convinces if the invasion convinces. And since Shyamalan refuses to show what happens, this invasion is about as convincing as an Enron balance sheet.
After all, these aliens have the technology to fly across the universe but can't kick down a basement door? We're told they're afraid to use their weapons for fear of nuclear retaliation, but that doesn't wash, either. After all, they spit out poison gas like Wal-Mart perfume -- what difference would blasting a door down make? The whole alien plan is stupid -- whether it's a raiding party or a full-scale invasion, they'd have to fight every human mano a mano to take over. And as SIGNS shows, these creatures are pretty easy to deck. No wonder their whole attack belly flops.
Another ludicrous element is the aliens' Achilles Heel. Water! Wow. Why not the constant repetition of the word "the?" Or the smell of freshly-baked ziti? Shyamalan makes defeating the bad guys so easy the suspense is non-existent.
And if water is so deadly to these creatures, why do they attack a planet that's three-quarters H2O? You think that might be a problem? Duh!
So remember, show and tell is for school -- show, don't tell is for scripts.
Responses, comments and general two-cents worth can be E-mailed to gillis662000@yahoo.com.
A graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television, Tom McCurrie has worked as a development executive and a story analyst. He is currently a screenwriter living in Los Angeles.
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