Recently I joined a couple of Facebook groups centered around film. Although the A.I. algorithm is getting pretty good, I still think there’s no substitute for actual human beings making actual human observations about things (particularly when it comes to things like movies/music/art). One of these groups is centered around strange films - it’s great because I only recognize about a quarter of the things people post, and most of the time they are definitely strange, but also definitely films I’ve really enjoyed. Somewhere along the way, someone recommended The Signal.
When I looked up the The Signal, I noticed it was written/directed by the guy who did Underwater. That film is a great, Aliens-esque underwater horror film that (minor spoilers) culminates in a great, Lovecraftian ending that you kind of don’t see coming. Very pretty to look at, and starring Kristen Stewart, who does a great job at bringing humanity and pathos to a indie horror flick.
“Good enough,” I thought, “let’s check out this Signal movie, see if it holds up.”
I’m so glad I did.
If I had watched this movie when I was in my 20’s, I guarantee it would have been one of my favorite movies of all time. It begins as a sort of road trip movie - three MIT students (Jonah, Nic, and Haley) are travelling to California to drop of Haley, who will be transferring to Cal-Tech. Nic and Haley are boyfriend/girlfriend, and there is a (extremely realistically) portrayed tension over the fact that Haley will be gone for a year. Complicating matters is that Nic used to be a runner (as a former runner, the throughline in this movie related to it totally resonated with me) and now has a degenerative disease that is starting to cripple him. A short conversation between the two (on the edge of a canyon, beautifully shot) has Nic say he is distancing himself from Haley because, given his condition, he doesn’t want to hold her back. She accuses him of using that as an excuse to put up a wall, because he is afraid of losing her, and not allowing her the autonomy to make her own decisions.
It sounds a bit rote/stale on paper, but the dialogue and the acting here are utterly convincing. In fact, although it only takes up a small portion of the film, the interplay between the three characters at the outset make them utterly believable, which pays dividends as the movie progresses. You truly get the sense that these are three, good college friends who (like so many of us have) have to contend with sudden life changes that accompany being a certain age, in a certain place of transition in life.
During this opening salvo of scenes, we also find out there is a hacker that has gotten into MIT’s servers and hacked Nic and Jonah. They receive messages from this mysterious hacker (named NOMAD) along their trip, taunting them, and are able to backtrace the signal to a specific location in Nevada. In a moment of displaced emotion, Nic decides to go along with Jonah’s insistence that they go and check this out/make this dude pay on their way to drop Haley off. Again, while on paper this sounds formulaic, it’s the deft layering of emotional scenes, age of the characters, and the situation that makes this somewhat rash decision seem believable.
Once the trio get to this location and start to investigate, let’s just say things go off the bleeping rails. There is a moment where the film dips into found footage horror territory (only a moment, but gosh is it carried off competently, and to surprising effect), and then something happens that comes out of left field that utterly upends the entire movie (literally haha - that’s an inside joke) .
After this early climactic event, let’s just say that I spent the rest of the movie completely questioning everything I was seeing, trying to make sense of it/put it in context. I really don’t want to spoil anything for you, but I will say that it’s a pleasure that a movie like this features characters who are actually highly intelligent and resourceful. These are MIT students, and the way the rest of the film plays out, it’s a pleasure to see the film neither insults their intelligence, nor ours as the viewer.
I think the thing that makes this a great movie (and I mean that - this is a GREAT movie), is that there is a genuine, human and emotional underpinning. There is pathos, and for all the weirdness, one could easily take the whole thing as a metaphor for youth, growing up and having to make tough choices, and the rawness of the emotions that accompany that. There are a few scenes in slow motion near the end that are not only compositionally great, but also visually capture a certain feeling of youthful defiance that I’m not sure I’ve often seen in film. In fact, visually speaking, this is a highly arresting film, a fact that is extra surprising when you find out it was only this director’s second film (side note: apparently his editor was the editor for Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks #jealousy).
Beyond the film-as-metaphor read, there is also just a mind bending number of twists and occurrences in this thing that beg a second watch (and third watch, and fourth watch). A lot of people have (apparently) criticized this film as being to odd/vague and throwing out a lot of things that don’t seem to make sense. I’d counter with saying that most truly great films demand the audience spend some time really contemplating what they just saw. From what I’ve read of the Director (and this film in particular), I’d suspect that he is extremely meticulous, and that everything is placed for a reason. What’s unusual, perhaps, is that the film doesn’t just explain everything - again, this is a director respecting the intelligence of the audience. I’d wager there are answers there to many of the immediate “But why was this there?” questions, you just need to stop and think a bit. I also think it’s one of those films where you could likely have multiple interpretations and have the film support them, but in a way that (to me) does not feel lazy at all - rather, again, very meticulously designed to allow this.
Furthermore, I think that the film walks the fine line between explaining just enough for you to pick apart some threads and make some educated guesses about what’s happening, while also leaving the door open to more metaphoric interpretations too. Note the use of fish and water imagery throughout. Note the images of barriers. Pay close attention to the necklace, and let that break your brain after you digested the film for a bit.
I’ll stop there and say, with the caveats that this may not be for everyone, this is easily one of my favorite films I’ve seen this year. It is beautiful to look at, captures a certain feeling of a certain time expertly, while also being utterly engaging throughout. Thanks to all the weirdoes and film lovers on Facebook!