In 2002, it was finally all coming together for Joaquin Phoenix. He was at long last being considered a leading man after two decades of ensemble parts, and was a year removed from earning a Best Supporting Actor nomination for "Gladiator." The U.S. Army satire "Buffalo Soldiers" could have been the film to fully transform him into a full-blown, top-of-the-poster star, but it wound up getting buried for the offense of poking fun at the military in the immediate wake of 9/11 (it screened at the Toronto International Film Festival the very week of the attacks). So, it couldn't help but feel like he was more actor than M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" needed for the role of Mel Gibson's brother.
Don't get me wrong! I'm thrilled Phoenix got the part if only for his terrified reaction to the alien video, a jump scare we get to share with him as viewers (and a reminder of how fiendishly clever Shyamalan can be as a filmmaker). He also strikes poignant notes of failure and helplessness as a washout of a minor league baseball player tasked with helping his grieving brother around the house after the death of his wife. But, really, shouldn't he have been off the market for a part such as this?
Amazingly, Phoenix wasn't off the market for anything when it came time for Shyamalan to shoot "Signs." In fact, he was the director's Plan B when another then rising star -- one with a great big green future in front of him -- abruptly dropped out of the movie.