Written by Robert Scucci | Published
At the beginning of the millennium, M. Night Shyamalan had one hell of a movie like this Awake, The Sixth Senseagain Non-stop. While these few films established Shyamalan as a filmmaker known for his unique twists and third act exploits, Symptoms (currently airing on Max) is a film that shows his range because no real mind-bending exposition is needed to tell his story of an attack centered on grief and family survival in insurmountable circumstances.
Taking a step back and focusing on close family relationships, Shyamalan tells a heartfelt story about a priest who loses his faith after a personal tragedy where War of the Worlds The scene plays out just outside his house.
Setting of Symbols
As an ardent fan of light shows with no side stories, Symptoms it’s one of my favorite movies because it’s straightforward.
Mel Gibson’s father Graham Hess, a former Episcopal priest who lost his faith after his wife was killed in a tragic accident, works as a farmer while trying his best to keep his family together. Graham’s younger brother, Merril (Joaquin Phoenix), a former minor league baseball player, steps in to help raise Graham’s children, Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin), as best he can. Morgan suffers from asthma, and Bo has a strange anxiety about water, but apart from these physical and personality ailments, they live a normal life in rural Pennsylvania.
We have visitors
A dynamic family aside, Symptoms introduces its conflict with the mysterious formation of plant circles that appear overnight outside Graham’s house, initially dismissed as an elaborate act of vandalism. When similar formations appear around the world, the news network confirms that this was not an isolated incident, and that there have been sightings of unidentified flying objects and animals as far away as Brazil. Although Graham makes a sincere effort to keep his family calm, his faith is called into question when it seems that the end times at the hands of earthly beings are fast approaching.
After hearing strange clicking sounds on Bo’s older child’s monitor, and encountering an unseen person trying to break into the house one night, Graham and Merril realize they need to board the windows and doors if they are, in fact, dealing with each other. and hostile visitors of unknown origin.
The Last Supper
What does Symptoms what makes this film so special to me is how Graham prepares his family for what is in his mind the ultimate showdown between good and evil – the last supper, if you will. Dinner includes spaghetti, French toast, mashed potatoes, chicken teriyaki, and a bacon cheeseburger. Knowing that their front door could explode at any moment, the Hess family is in tears as they try to enjoy their favorite comfort food, as long as they don’t stay up all night.
Watching Symptoms after having children with me, Graham’s fatherly feelings touched me deeply. When all hell breaks loose, it’s up to Graham to put on a brave face and tell everyone that everything is going to be okay even if he’s just as broken in his heart as everyone else.
Not just an alien movie
Symptoms it is not an unknown movie in the traditional sense. The only global tragedy we see is the newspapers, and everything else takes place inside the Hess residence as one family tries to stick together when an alien invasion has the power to tear them apart. Through this family dynamic, we get a deep look at what happens when no one has the answers, but they try their best to act as they do. You don’t need world building when all of Graham’s world already lives with him under his roof, and for that reason. Symptoms it stands up because its messages are timeless.
From this writing, you can broadcast Symptoms to Max. And if you want to go even deeper into what I consider to be M’s best film. Night Shyamalan, you can check out the GenreVision podcast for more information.
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