Logan Sork Film Reviews
Unbreakable
When it comes to writer/ director M. Night Shyamalan, most people either love him or hate him find myself somewhat in the middle. I find films like The Sixth Sense and Split to be enjoyable high concept films while films like After Earth and The Last Airbender to be the equivalent of cinematic garbage. Of all of his films I had heard about, one that kept coming was Unbreakable. For years I had meant to watch this film to see if it was worth the discussion, but I kept getting sidetracked with other things. Now, with a surprise sequel to the film hitting theaters this year, I figured now is as good a time as any to check out the film, and I am so glad I did. Unbreakable is a surprisingly nuanced take on the superhero mythos that is elevated by a great story, direction and performances that make me wonder why this film is as underrated as it is.
Unbreakable is written, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan and centers around David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a man who is going through a mid-life crisis as he struggles with finding a different job and mending his relationships with his wife (Robin Wright). While riding a train back from a job interview, David’s life I turned upside down when the train derails, killing everyone on board but David, who has survived without a scratch. David is then visited by Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a man obsessed with comic books who has a rare disease that makes his bones extremely fragile. Elijah is convinced that David is someone with superhuman abilities, seeing as he has seemingly gone his entire life without getting sick or injured, and looks to inspire David to embrace his inner hero and help people. While David initially sees Elijah as a crazy fanatic, more and more occurrences in his everyday life cause him to believe that he may actually have a unique gift.
While most superhero films are over the top and reliant on action and one liners, Unbreakable takes a smaller more sophisticated approached to the world of superheroes. In fact, most of the hero stuff is relegated to the last third of the film, with the rest focused on David’s self-discovery. By focusing on the character development of our lead, Shyamalan allows David to grow into a fully realized dynamic character rather than another bland hero archetype. The journey that David experiences is also made more gratifying by the film’s slower pace, as we experience the challenges that David has to go through at a realistic pace, elevating the film’s true moment of self-discovery. Usually The relationships he has with other characters are also explored, allowing supporting characters like his son, his wife and Elijah to also be realized as dynamic characters. The film’s approach to the subject matter is so good, if you were to remove the superhero element entirely, you’d still be left with a great drama about a man who is trying to figure out his place in the world.
The film is also very well directed. While a lot of people tend to be very harsh on Shyamalan, he’s actually a very good director, and that is on full display in this film. Throughout the film, Shyamalan uses multiple long takes of scenes in which the actors perform in a wide shot as opposed to cutting back and forth in a traditional manner. While this may make the film feel detached for some, I found it interesting as it forces you to it in and listen as opposed to making it easy by cutting to different shots to keep your attention. There are also a lot of thrilling sequences throughout the film in which relatively small occurrences are elevated by Shyamalan’s direction and James Newton Howard’s great score.
The film also has some great nuanced performances, chief among them being Bruce Willis. Willis is usually over the top, but here he really dials it back and portrays David as a quiet individual who’s just trying to get by, allowing for the experiences that he has to be more impactful as his character develops from them. Robin Wright and Spencer Treat Clark also provide the film with some great dramatic moments as David’s wife and son respectively. The only one who is really over the top is Samuel L. Jackson, who brings an unhinged dynamic to Elijah Price, but also manages to make the character sympathetic in some moments of the film. Together, these performances work off of one another to create some truly spectacular acting moments throughout the film.
While the film isn’t as flawed as some of Shyamalan’s other work, there are still a few problems to be found in the film. Some of the dialogue is a little too on the nose, with characters sometimes feeling like they are telling the audience something rather than the character whom they are speaking to. There are also a couple moments where Shyamalan tries different techniques and shots that feel more like they are just him showing off rather than adding a deeper meaning to the overall film. Perhaps my biggest issue comes in the form of the film’s twist ending. I won’t spoil it, but the twist itself is actually really good and falls in line with a lot of superhero tropes in a smart and unique way. My issue with it is that it really isn’t explored that much, as the film ends just moments after the reveal. This is one of those rare films that I think could’ve benefitted from an extra 20 minutes to allow for a more realized exploration of the twist and offer a greater closure to the film.
In spite of these flaws, Unbreakable is a great drama in disguise as a superhero film. The film’s unique approach to the concept and the smaller more personal story allow the film to be more accessible to those not accustomed to the superhero genre. Add in the excellent directing and acting that come along with it, and you have yourself an underappreciated classic that deserves more attention than it gets.
8.5/10