his congregation. He does not seek redemption – though his children need him to change his style. He literally faces the man who killed his wife, and purposefully does not seek revenge. Instead, he offers understanding. Rather than providing only an opportunity for the male lead to become a standard Hollywood Alpha Male, Colleen Hess looms over every moment of Signs until the penny finally drops for Graham – and he finds his faith in her. That’s not plot device - that’s teamwork.

The impact that this has on the narrative as a whole is to subvert that other expectation we have of Hollywood movies, as a result of the dominant male gaze: That men are active, while women are passive, or reactive. Here, those roles are switched. Officer Paski is a proactive character – investigating s...

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