Unbreakable

Disclaimer:

The movie I’ll be reviewing this week is rated: PG-13

Some content herein will be unsuitable for children.

Also: SPOILERS!!!

Let’s just get this straight from the start: I know I’ve made quite a few jokes at M. Night Shyamalan’s expense. To be fair, Shyamalan is one of those filmmakers that’s pretty easy to poke fun at. Although, I will admit that he has made some good movies too. Unbreakable is one I’d consider to be good. While not the best movie M. Night Shyamalan has ever made (that title belongs to Lady in the Water [in case it wasn’t clear, that was sarcasm]), it’s still a film that makes me think and makes me glad I watched it.

To me it manages to raise interesting questions about the nature of how one’s born, if our characteristics that make us special are gifts or curses, and if that same uniqueness should define us as people. While each of these are very thought-provoking ideas, I can’t speak to much of the movie’s details as of now. It’s been a minute since I’ve seen it last and much of the smaller scenes are a bit of a blur.

It’s possible that the movie didn’t do enough to help the smaller moments stand out, or I could just not have paid attention enough the last time I saw it. Because of that, I can’t give as comprehensive of an intro as I’d like. That doesn’t mean I can’t watch the movie again and give y’all a more detailed picture of my thoughts afterwards. So, who’s ready? I’m ready!

Let’s crack into this bone-shattering experience with M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable.

How do you know this is a Shyamalan film?

Also, there isn’t much of a reason to have this text here anyway. Sure we learn Elijah’s passion is comics, but it would’ve been nicer if we figured it out organically. This is the equivalent of opening The Godfather with a random Snapple cap fact. I suppose it’s interesting, but it’s not needed. Where were we?

Also, another common Shyamalan-ism: the unnecessary one-take. What we’re watching here is the birth of what will eventually be one of the main characters: Elijah Price. He has a genetic disorder which makes his bones less sturdy than other people, so when he was born he broke his arms and legs. I like this intro, not just because it gives us a preview of how difficult this character’s life must be, but mainly because it gives us the film’s thesis immediately.

This character is defined by this disorder. Is that fair?

While we ruminate on that, we then see our official protagonist, David Dunn (played by Bruce Willis), sitting on a train. After being approached by a random woman, we see him remove his wedding ring. Shyamalan trope #3: couple’s therapy. May as well get these out of the way early. Also, what’s up with this camera shot?

It just goes back and forth between the two characters while they talk like a 5th grader learning how to use their phone camera for the first time.
Why did they shoot it like this?
Honestly, it’s kinda goofy.

Dunn’s flirting attempts fail, thankfully, and God decides to cut the awkwardness of this scene by crashing the train. Thanks, God. Miraculously though, David Dunn is completely unharmed.

*Your train derailed […] You didn’t break one bone. You don’t have a scratch on you.*
Curious.

Also, while I believe most of Shyamalan’s one-takes are unnecessary, this one is done pretty well. It helps to create an uncomfortable environment just through a single sustained shot and this image in particular -

watching the blood blossom underneath the medical wrappings is super unnerving.

However, it’s once David is reunited with his family - his son, Joseph (played by Spencer Treat Clark), and his wife, Audrey (played by Robin Wright) - that things start to slow down considerably. I suppose we catch a bit of what their family dynamic is like and we see a memorial for the victims of the train wreck, but that’s pretty much it.

More Shyamalan tropes: talking directly into the camera.
One more and I’ll have Shyamalan bingo.

The next most interesting thing that happens in the movie is when David receives an anonymous letter from “Limited Edition” asking him how many times he’s been sick. Riveting. All joking aside, it does get intriguing after our second main character, Elijah Price (played by Samuel L. Jackson), is officially introduced. Over the course of his childhood, since he couldn’t play like other children, he spent most of his time separated from the world both physically and mentally through his interest in comics.

This also helps show just how sheltered Elijah has been all his life, because he views the world through the lens of a comic book.

He now owns an art gallery, “Limited Edition,” dedicated to comic art. Also, don’t you dare undermine his craft, because he will come after you. That being said, despite the fact Samuel L. Jackson is known for being highly energetic and vocally present in his roles, this is one where he’s considerably more reserved. Not to say it’s bad, but you can hear a substantial difference between his voice in this role and one like Jules from Pulp Fiction.

Considering Elijah’s character, it was a good choice because it helps indicate how reserved and inactive he’s had to be for the majority of his life due to his condition. However, it’s still clear that deep down he’s wanting to break free of this label he’s been forced into in any way possible. Most of this is due to Jackson’s acting pedigree. We’ll touch more on that later.

For now, David meets Elijah at his art gallery where we learn that Elijah has a theory. Due to Elijah’s very weak bone structure, he’s come to believe that there’s likely a person in the world that has such a strong bone structure that they cannot be harmed in any way. A physically “unbreakable” human-being. I guess that makes sense, but it is still a bit of a stretch. I don’t blame the movie for this though, I totally understand why Elijah would believe this. David is assumed to be that person, and…not a whole lot else happens.

Basically, from here until the climax, it’s just figuring out if David is the “unbreakable” human Elijah’s been looking for or not. Did David ever get sick before? Was he injured in the accident he was in years ago? How does his near-drowning factor into all this? It’s honestly both a pro and a con in the grand scheme of things.

It’s a pro because despite having a clearly comic book-y story, it doesn’t feel comic book-y. By having a consistently slow, and even slice-of-life, pacing for the majority of the film, it helps make the idea of actual genetic superheroes somewhat plausible in our reality.

However, it’s a con too, because I know there are several moviegoers that just won’t be able to get into it. The slow pacing is either going to work for you or it isn’t. Despite liking this movie myself, I have to admit that after rewatching it, it was difficult to get through in places. Several scenes I completely forgot existed, and it felt longer than it actually was: 1 hour and 47 minutes. No matter what your thoughts are, that’s not good.

It will seem a bit more justified when we get to the end, so if you stick with me, I promise we’ll go through it in detail. For now, let’s just go over some of my favorite parts.

The first one: when Joseph and David are working out together.

At this point, while David has gone back and forth on Elijah’s theory of him being a genetic superhero, Joseph heard that theory and ran with it. He ends up putting too much weight on David’s barbell when they’re working out together, yet David still manages to lift it. This moment ends up strengthening Joseph’s (and David’s) belief that David could potentially be a genetic superhero. Not only that, but it comes to a head in this next scene when Joseph points a loaded gun at his father.

Joseph becomes so convinced his father is Superman that he tries to prove it by shooting him. In an earlier scene, we saw that David hides a gun in his linen closet. This scene is shot so intensely, another example of where I think Shyamalan’s patented one-take improves the scene, and realistically. Everyone’s reactions in this moment is 100% believable too, and it’s a huge relief when Joseph puts the gun down. You can hear every audience member in the world let out a big breath when it’s over. See what I mean when I say it doesn’t feel comic book-y?

Also, there was a moment before all of this that stands out to me as well: when David demonstrates his superpowers to Elijah at the stadium.

At the stadium, David meets with Elijah and ends up bumping into one of the patrons accidentally. He says he believes the person he bumped was carrying a weapon. Specifically a silver plated gun with a black grip tucked in his pants. After saying this, Elijah ends up following the man back to his car only to find that he had a silver plated gun with a black grip tucked in his pants.

I mostly like this scene because of the sense of discovery around the whole thing. The reason I keep watching is because I, like Elijah, desperately want to know if David’s guess was correct.

Even despite these cool scenes, I still have to admit that there’s a lot of boredom around them. In fact, surrounding some of these cool scenes can be even more boring moments. That could be seen as a clever choice to give the audience a false sense of security before throwing them into something deeply cool, tense, or interesting, but there’re still a lot of them which can also be pretty tiring.

Over the course of the movie, going back and forth several times on whether David is a genetic superhero or not, what clinches the theory is when Elijah sends a voicemail to him proclaiming that David’s weakness is water. That’s why he nearly drowned that one time. Every superhero has one, and this one’s David’s. Shyamalan, your Signs is showing. After remembering that he wasn’t actually injured in that accident years previous, he finally accepts his role and sets out to be a vigilante.

After identifying his first target, a serial killer, David goes to dispatch him. This is the climax of the movie which is also my second favorite part of the movie. Since David is inexperienced, we see how he manages to make a few mistakes on his first outing, even falling victim to his worst enemy (water), yet still manages to save some innocent people’s lives and bring a dangerous man to justice.

The next day, Elijah is having an exhibition at his art gallery. After going behind the scenes with Elijah, David notices a few things after shaking Elijah’s hand. He gets 3 separate visions of Elijah in some suspicious locations, including him interfering with the same train David was riding at the beginning of the film which crashed.

After releasing Elijah’s hand, David notices various tools around Elijah’s office that look like their intended use is for sabotage. This is when the big twist hits us: Elijah was the one responsible for David’s train crash. Not only this, but we also heard in earlier scenes that there were 2 other major tragedies we didn’t see which had no survivors. Elijah was also responsible for those. It was all for the sake of finding someone like David.

First: Bingo! Second, this is when the entire movie makes sense. All of the previous ideas presented start to fall into place to create a complex social commentary on the nature of how we’re born, which, to me, makes the whole thing worth it.

You look back on the scene of Elijah being born and notice he had no choice in getting this disorder, yet that’s what ends up defining him. In that final shot of the movie where he proclaims himself “Mr. Glass,” you can see how he’s reluctantly accepted his place, but everyone else forced him into it. Not only were comics a way to escape reality for Elijah, but also to help understand it. In comics, he says, the archenemy is always the stark opposite of the hero. That’s what Elijah is to David.

Speaking of David, did he have a choice? He was born with this ability to not get injured easily, but was it his choice to be the protector of humanity? To some degree it was, after Elijah convinced him of it, but he still didn’t ask to be this person. While he ends up accepting it in time, it seems like he does it in a similar fashion to Elijah. Once again, his stark opposite. Because of these two characters’ journeys, you’re forced, as the audience member, to think about your own life similarly.

How many boxes have you been shoved into by society against your will? That’s why, despite killing hundreds of innocent people, I can’t help but still relate in some way to Elijah. I think that’s why this is my favorite part of the movie. Does it make the whole thing worth it? Let’s wrap this up and find out.

Despite that awesome ending, I still stand by my earlier statement on the slower pacing of those earlier scenes. To some people, especially ones who haven’t seen it before, that might be a good reason to walk out of the theater in boredom. You may also notice that this review is a bit shorter than some of my other reviews. Most of that is due to the lack of intrigue happening on a minute-by-minute basis. Sure there are a few things that can pop off now and then that are cool, but on the whole it’s pretty low key.

However, if you do manage to stick with the film, I think that you’ll find the ending especially worth it. Much like The Sixth Sense, the ending ties everything up in a satisfying way and offers some great “food for thought” for anyone who sees it. To me, it makes the movie worth it, but you’ll probably notice that this conclusion is also shorter than most other conclusions I’ve written, even for shorter reviews.

Even in Shyamalan’s good work, he still seems to put the hardest hitting aspects of his films in the last 10-15 minutes. If you know that going in, and make sure you set aside enough time to watch the movie, it’s much more likely you’ll enjoy it. Some people still may have difficulties getting into it though, and I get that. If it helps at all, unlike The Others, this is really a film that sticks with me. Hopefully this review has helped you determine if this is the type of movie you’ll enjoy this weekend movie night or not.

The best rating I could give this film is a 4/5 wheelchairs. I was originally going to give it a 3.5/5, but after considering the impact it’s had on me (that ending still pops into my head randomly and makes me think), I felt like it was fair to rate it a bit higher. Of course, some people won’t be able to get into it which is why I couldn’t rate it higher, but I still think it’s one that’s worth your time.

In case you missed it, take a look at the post I made on JKGeekly’s website about my top 5 favorite horror tropes for Halloween. Thanks for the support!

(I make no claim of ownership for any of the images used in this post)

(Each of them are owned entirely by their respective copyright holders, which are not me)

(I’m just a humble blogger who talks about movies, I do not make them)

(Yet)

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