UNBREAKABLE
Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:46 - Released 11/22/00
Perhaps the most rapidly up-and-coming director/producer of the
moment is Indian-born, Philadelphia-bred M. Night Shyamalan, who
garnered several Oscar nominations (including best picture, best
director, and best screenplay) for his breakthrough success The Sixth Sense last year. The
film had an intelligent story, a host of memorable images, and
uniformly good performances by stars Bruce Willis, Toni Collette,
and the pre-pubescent Haley Joel Osment (the latter two of which
were also nominated). In Shyamalan's new film Unbreakable,
Willis returns with another fine, understated turn, joined this
time by Samuel L. Jackson. I won't be surprised if Shyamalan,
who apparently emulates Steven Speilberg, gets a few Academy nods
for this complex piece of cinema, too.
When I first heard of the premise for Unbreakable (physically
disabled and sickly man searches for man who has never been injured
or sick a day in his life), I had my doubts, and when I saw the
comic book stats listed at the beginning of the film, I was baffled
as to how these two elements would tie together. But it is exactly
that connection which makes the film so fascinating, blending
the realistic style of a depressed family man who is estranged
from his wife and son with the exaggerated, colorful elements
of comic book fare. It is filled with interesting choices from
behind the camera, giving a sometimes skewed perspective of the
world, and meaningful silences in the dialogue, reminiscent of
Pinter.
Jackson's character, Elijah Price, is the comics enthusiast
in this story. Born with both arms and both legs broken, he suffers
from a condition called "Osteo-Genesis Imperfecta,"
which has him frequently ill and easily injured, and although
he operates a comic book art gallery in Philadelphia, he spends
most of his time alone, a bitter recluse. All his life, he says,
Elijah has been searching for a person who is his exact opposite,
a man who survives even the most terrible accidents unscathed,
and he finds him when a major train wreck kills 131 passengers,
all on board but security guard David Dunn (Willis), who walks
away without a scratch. After the amazing news is broadcast, Elijah
seeks David out, asking him if he ever has been ill. Although
David and his wife Audrey (Robin Wright Penn) dismiss the question
at first, David must admit he doesn't remember any illness, ever.
This is when Elijah makes the bold suggestion that David is a
sort of modern-day superhero, whose depression stems from the
fact that he is not fulfilling his destiny of protecting people
from the evils of the world. David's son Joseph (Spencer Treat
Clark) is the only one who believes this could be true, but as
Elijah spends more time with David, he begins to wonder if the
dark, disturbed man is right.
As Shyamalan's film quietly metamorphoses from a standard psychodrama to a larger-than-life tale of super-heroics, the change is so subtle it takes us by surprise. This may the most realistic and intelligent introduction of such a character that ever has been. Even as the surprise ending returns us to the regular, modern-day world, the possibility for a continuation of story is evident. Shyamalan's characters are realistic, yet at the same time they provide evidence that they could come right out of melodramatic Marvel pulp, and his rich cinematic atmosphere, while ostensibly normal and everyday, suggests a world seen through primary-colored half-tones. ****½