Movie Review: Unbreakable · 1:04am Feb 10th, 2019
Ah, M. Night Shyamalan...
What a director.
From his early smash success with The Sixth Sense, that had him labelled initially as the next Hitchcock or Spielberg...
To the appalling lows of films like Lady in the Water, The Happening... and yes, The Last Airbender. 
I'm sure you all are at least familiar with some of the jokes or mockery made about him since then. Especially the ones about the various plot twists in his movies. (Roll the clip in three, two, one...)
That being said, I eventually started to get curious in a few of Shyamalan's movies, thanks to various circumstances.
First of all, as a comic-book fan, I knew a little bit about Unbreakable, M. Night's fourth movie, thanks in part to some independent research I once did about superhero movies. Then the buzz about the movie Split made me wonder if Shyamalan was starting to make a comeback... the discovery that Split was also connected to a movie released 15 years ago also was something of interest, just in terms of the gutsiness of having such a call-back. (Also, another important factor I must note, is comic-book writer Grant Morrison's glowing praise of Unbreakable in his book Supergods.)
And then, finally, the release of Glass this year finally motivated me to get out and start looking into these three movies of Shyamalan's that may, in fact, actually be pretty good.
So today, I shall be sharing my thoughts on Unbreakable.
Unbreakable is the story of two men, really. Elijah Price (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and David Dunn (Bruce Willis).
Elijah is a man born with osteogenesis imperfecta - a medical condition where the bones are very fragile and break easily. Elijah is a major aficionado of comic books (in part due to having read so many during a childhood full of hospital stays) and as an adult is an art dealer specializing in comic-book art.
David is in many ways a washup. Once a football star in college, he is now a mere security guard at a sports stadium; his marriage is dissolving, he's looking for work elsewhere...
And then, returning from a job interview in New York, his train suddenly crashes. 131 people die in the accident... all except David... who, somehow, survives the horrific incident without a single scratch. Needless to say, David is baffled and guilty over the question of how he survived...
Then, after a memorial service for the victims of the crash, David finds a card from Elijah's art gallery, bearing a single question:
"How many days in your life have you been sick?"
Thrown by the question, David thinks back on his life, and after consulting with his wife Audrey (Robin Wright Penn), finds that he cannot remember a single point in his life where he was sick, or had a headache, or even got a bruise. Contacting Elijah to find out what the heck the art dealer wants with him, David is offered a very dramatic answer:
That, if there are people like Elijah who are so much more frail and brittle than the normal person, then perhaps there is someone on the opposite end of the spectrum. A person who is strong and durable, far more so than average. In essence, Elijah believes that David is a real-life superhuman, someone who would have inspired the heroes of Elijah's beloved comic-books.
David, naturally, is disbelieving of the idea and believes that heroes are the subject of stories. But eventually, Elijah's hypothesis prompts David to start questioning the circumstances of his life, and to start testing his limits. Elijah's theory also prompts further friction in David's family, as Audrey thinks that Elijah is dangerous, while David's son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark) starts to think his dad is a real superhero.
It all comes to a head as David comes to grips with who he is and what he could be... and also, who Elijah really is, too...
Unbreakable is a slow-paced, but (pardon the pun) very solid movie. It's methodical and one of the most tightly, meticulously constructed films that I've ever seen. Everything about the movie, from the dialogue to the color palette, all of it plays a very careful part in the film's story. Now admittedly, to some this might be a detriment, but I feel that Shyamalan's script (and the actors' delivery) do a superb job of pulling off all these details. It helps that some points of the movie contain a few lines that feel like the director was straight-up having fun with all of this: take note of the first scene introducing Elijah as an adult, where he discusses the way that a particular comic artist draws his villain. (And in a flashback scene where we see Elijah's mother give him a comic book, Mrs. Price's line "They say this one has a surprise ending" made me laugh.)
One of the greatest strengths of this movie, to me, as a comic-book fan, is how skillfully Shyamalan is able to draw on comic-book tropes and conventions and ground them in the very realistic setting, and make it all work. This really comes to a head in the film's climactic sequence, in my opinion. The most mundane objects and items become symbolic of archetypal superhero elements. A humble hooded rain poncho labelled "Security"? Our newly-minted superhero's cape and cowl, for example. And the one true action scene in the movie? An un-flashy and realistic struggle, shot in one take with no stylistics or wild effects, that still manages to be intense and thrilling like a proper hero-vs-villain brawl should be. 
I said before that Unbreakable is the story of two men, really. Elijah Price and David Dunn. Time for me to share my thoughts on their performances.
Samuel L. Jackson is outstanding as Elijah Price. He delivers an intense and highly charismatic performance, portraying a man who is clearly intelligent and driven by his goals and beliefs... and also a brooding soul, tormented by his condition and a deep-seated need to find some meaning to justify his place in the world, to prove that he isn't just an accident. I read that Samuel L. Jackson loved doing this part, and it definitely shows. In fact, in some ways, I'd almost be tempted to say that this really is Jackson's movie, just because of how impressed I was with his performance and how much I feel that Jackson brought to the character of Elijah Price.
Bruce Willis as David Dunn is a bit more complicated matter to talk about. He gives a convincingly subdued and world-weary performance as David Dunn and does some good acting in the character's grappling with his potential abilities and what it all means, but I will say that there is a bit in the very first scene with the character (and the follow-up on that moment) that does sit kind of poorly with me: that being said, I don't blame Willis or his performance at all for that moment, it's more of an objection to Shyamalan's handling of that particular subject matter that I find objectionable. (I get what he was going for, showing how David's marriage is so on the rocks and all, but him taking off his wedding ring in the first scene with this character so he can flirt with a lady, doesn't really do much to make me empathize with David Dunn in that moment. Fortunately the rest of the movie corrects a lot of this initial misstep, so I can live it with. Plus - cheap shot here - M. Night Shyamalan created a better "grounded, flawed Superman" with this character than Zack Snyder could ever HOPE to. 
)
Though ultimately, that's my one major complaint in regard to the movie. The rest of it I very much enjoyed.
One final praise I'd like to extend to the film would go to Charlayne Woodard as Elijah Price's mother. She delivers an engaging and very interesting performance as mother to a son with such a painful and limiting condition; one of my personal favorite scenes in the movie is a flashback where she tries to motivate a despondent young Elijah to go outside. It's very well-done in my opinion.
Unbreakable may not be for everyone, I admit it. Again, it's a slow-paced and meticulous film. But if you have a love of comic-books and are interested in a genuinely good "realistic" and "grounded" take on the superhero genre, I'd definitely recommend this movie to you. 
Well, at least I know whwta I can answer if someone asks me if this is anything like Shymalan's previous movies,
Jokes aside, I kinda feel bad for the people in The Happening, a director who seemed like he had no idea what he was doing, a nonsensical script and knowing that in the hands of, anyone else, this might have been a fun parody of environmentalist horror movies,
5010774
I was wondering if someone would comment with that clip! XD
But yeah, in all honesty, I do feel bad for the people involved in some of Shyamalan's crappier films. There are good bad films, the kind where everyone is having fun and is in on the joke, and then there are bad bad films, and it's a misery to have to be a part of the latter kind.
5010837
True. There’s a difference between a film where the ones in charge were upfront and the actors can at least have fun, and a movie where nothing makes sense and you end up with more questions than answers. IE The Room. It’s fun to watch, but making it was another story.
5010843
Indeed so. I read some stuff about the making of The Room, and I just feel awful for what those actors had to go through.
I remember when The Disaster Artist came out last year. I didn't see it, admittedly, but my dad did and he hated it because he just despised the way that Tommy treated everyone involved.
5010845
The Disaster Artist has funny moments, but it was also surprisingly dark at times.
5010846
Naturally, considering what kind of man Tommy Wiseau is.
5010847
I posted a thing about his Joker audition tape and, it kinda works. That said, not sure how cooperative he’d be.
5010849
I remember that, yeah. But seriously, who knows how that would all work out. *shrugs*
Though speaking of Mister J, I must admit that I actually am kind of interested to see the new movie with Joaquin Phoenix playing him. The screen test they released of him really did a lot to win me over.
5010854
From what I remember, it’s a new way of portraying Joker. I’m game to see it if I ever have time and finish KH3 before then.
5010855
Definitely does look like a new way of portraying Joker. In particular the makeup is nice, it's very evocative of actual clown makeup but still looking appropriately reminiscent of The Joker so you know immediately who it is. (And, cheap shot, it looks miles better than Heath Ledger's "psycho hobo" appearance too.)
5010856
I’m curious to see where it goes, I admit.
5010858
Same here, definitely.
5010860
It makes for a fun change of pace if nothing else. We know who the Joker is, who doesn’t? But who he was before? That’s a variable to say the least.
5010862
Exactly. I know some people get their panties in a twist about the idea of giving an origin to the Joker, but here's the thing: there's never going to be an explicitly defined, one true story for who Joker was and how he came to be. Comics (and the media based on them) reinvent and change all the time. The Joker might have been a failed comedian, or he might have been a gangster, who the hell knows? Part of the fun is seeing what ideas or new spins can be thought up!
One of my favorite new takes on The Joker comes from the Telltale-created Batman video games. He becomes the Joker in Season Two, but what type is really determined by how Batman (or rather, you) treated him previously.
5010870
The most common origin is the Killing Joke’s because of the whole One Bad Day thing. And it works, for that Joker. The Batman Joker is a vastly different beast, as is Heath Ledger’s or Suicide Squad’s. That’s the fun of Joker, you can do near anything with him. Whether he’s a dangerous trickster or a monster wearing the trappings of a man, he is Chaotic Evil. For all we know, he was always a monster and just got tired of hiding it one day.
5010872
Exactly! There's just so much variety to the character, he can be a goofy prankster a la Cesar Romero, a deranged narcissist like Jack Nicholson, or a psychotic screwball like Kevin Michael Richardson. It all depends on the telling.
And, if you're really good at him, he can convincingly swing between jokester and monster all in the same scene, like Mark Hamill does it.
5010873
Precisely. The key to Joker is Chaotic EVIL, not Stupid. He’s a very brilliant man, and he is as monstrous as he is funny. And there’s no length he won’t go to for a joke. Even the Brave And The Bold Joker or Silver Age Joker is a very real threat.
5010877
Indeed so. *nods*
5010880
For a prime example, in one hypothetical future of Brave And The Bomd, a Doctor told Joker he had 6 months to live, he gassed him in retaliation “I gave him 6 seconds.” Or the entirety of Emperor Joker.
5010881
I know of Emperor Joker, yes. One of the best of that show. The Joker gets the power of near-omnipotence, destroys reality and kills Batman over and over again... and yet it's strangely hilarious too. I mean, just look at the song number. That's the hallmark of a great Joker for you. He does it with a style all his own.
5010883
Of course he does it in style. Sure he could do it the practical way but, to quote the man himself “Where’s the fun in that?”