Unbreakable (2000)

Bruce Willis as "David Dunn"
Samuel L. Jackson as "Elijah Price"
Robin Wright Penn as "Audrey Dunn"
Spencer Treat Clark as "Joseph Dunn"

Written, produced, and directed
by M. Night Shyamalan

If a mysterious stranger approached me all of a sudden and told me I was a superhero, I would desperately want to believe him. If he then said that comic books were a link to some forgotten history, I would have to reconsider. David Dunn (Bruce Willis) doesn't even fall for the first part. He insists he's "just an ordinary man."

But he isn't. Ordinary men don't survive brutal train wrecks without even a scratch. Ordinary men don't go their entire lives without getting sick. David is, as the title suggests, unbreakable, and the film is an investigation as to whether or not he is simply an anomaly, or a four-color protector come to life.

"Unbreakable" could be one of the rarest of movies: a superhero film that shatters the usual conventions of superhero films, and forgoes all instances and temptations toward camp. Even its pacing is very deliberate and measured (like Shyamalan's previous blockbuster, "The Sixth Sense"), where comic book films are usually scattershot and whip-fast. Here, the emphasis is on tension, admirably drawn out, and characterization, which is wonderfully accurate.

Here, we follow the lives of two men, David Dunn and Elijah Price, as they intersect in the most unusual way. David is the sole survivor of a horrible train wreck, and has nary a scratch to show for it. Elijah, on the other hand, was born with an unusual condition that made his bones incredibly brittle. As a child, he was dubbed "Mr. Glass" by his peers. To lure him out out of the house and into the open, his mother used comic books. Now, Elijah runs a high-end comic art gallery in Philadelphia, and has spent his life studying the conventions of the superhero. Elijah believes that comic book heroes walk the earth, and that David Dunn is not only one of him, but his opposite; an unbreakable man to a man of glass.

David, however, isn't very receptive to Elijah's story. It isn't long, though, before things begin to add up. How is it that David has never been sick? Why does he work as a security guard, a protector, of all things? And if he is as Elijah says, what other powers might he possess?

Against this arc of self-discovery, we see David's family life, which is a bit of a mess. He is somewhat estranged from his wife, though his son idolizes him. In fact, he begins to buy into Elijah's story, perhaps a little too much.

In a way, this movie really seems like a long first act, or more like the origin story arc of a superhero comic. Those expecting a huge bang-up finale might be a little disappointed. We do get one of those M. Night surprise endings, and...I don't want to give it away. It might be a point of contention to some, but should you decide to see the movie, you'll find out for yourself.

"Unbreakable" contains several strong performances, most notably from its leads. Jackson is at his usual standard as Elijah, giving him an eerie, yet regal presence, and also bringing some hope to the character, hope that heroes actually exist. Bruce Willis shows dramatic growth here, giving another sublimely understated performance (as he did in "The Sixth Sense") as David Dunn. As his family, Robin Wright Penn and Spencer Treat Clark also work well, giving enough breath to David's dysfunctional home life.

My only concern lies with the ending, which leaves us just as things are getting started for David. Then there's the surprise at the end, which aggravated me, even though it made perfect sense in retrospect. It's becoming something of a signature in Shyamalan's films, though I find it a little unnerving that he can turn things around on the viewer so casually.

But these are quibbles compared to the praise this movie deserves. "Unbreakable" makes a fine dramatic thriller, but it's even better when you hold it up against the legions of comic book films that have never been able to measure up. Here, Shyamalan combines reverence for the genre with a willingness to go against convention, and the result is a film that makes me wish so badly for a sequel.

7.8.01