 |
Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis in
Unbreakable
|
DAVID DUNN (BRUCE WILLIS) LIFTS WEIGHTS REGULARLY. IT'S A COMMON FITNESS ROUTINE FOR AN EX-FOOTBALL PLAYER. SO DAVID, A UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SECURITY GUARD, HEADS DOWN TO THE BASEMENT OF HIS PHILADELPHIA HOME. HIS SON, JOSEPH (SPENCER TREAT CLARK), CAREFULLY KEEPS TRACK OF THE WEIGHTS. IT'S HOW WE DISCOVER THERE'S SOMETHING INHERENTLY STRANGE ABOUT DAVID.
DAVID'S FACE TURNS RED AND SWEATY FROM THE WORKOUT. HE GRIMACES WITH EVERY BENCH PRESS. MEANWHILE, JOSEPH PILES MORE WEIGHTS ONTO THE LIFTING BAR. SOON, DAVID IS LIFTING 250 POUNDS. IT'S A WEIGHT HE'S NEVER REACHED BEFORE. MORE IMPORTANTLY, DAVID FEELS CONFIDENT HE CAN LIFT MORE.
"LET'S PUT MORE ON," DAVID TELLS HIS DUMBFOUNDED SON. CANS OF PAINT ARE QUICKLY ADDED TO THE WEIGHTS. DAVID LIFTS THEM ALL LIKE SOME MAKESHIFT SUPERMAN. THEN AGAIN, WE'RE NEVER QUITE SURE WHAT KIND OF MAN DUNN IS. HIS MYSTERY IS THE KEY BEHIND UNBREAKABLE, WRITER/DIRECTOR M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN'S UNIQUE AND VISIONARY SUSPENSE THRILLER.
LIKE MICHAEL CHAMBON'S CURRENT NOVEL, THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY, A STORY ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM BEHIND A 1940S COMIC HERO, UNBREAKABLE ALSO USES COMICS AS A DRAMATIC LEAP TO SOMETHING MORE EMOTIONALLY SUBSTANTIAL. THE FILM OPENS WITH VARIOUS COMIC BOOK FACTS. IT'S CLEAR UNBREAKABLE INTENDS TO BE THE TYPE OF DARK AND MOROSE SUPERHERO TALE THAT FILM HAS NEVER ATTEMPTED BEFORE.
UNBREAKABLE INTRODUCES DUNN IN VIVID FASHION. HE IS SITTING ALONE ON A PASSENGER TRAIN HEADED FOR PHILADELPHIA. HIS HEAVY EYES STARE OUT A WINDOW; HIS HAIR IS SHAVED DOWN TO HIS SCALP. HIS NAKED HEAD AMPLIFIES EVERY FACIAL EXPRESSION. HIS SOMBER FACE BREAKS INTO A RARE SMILE WHEN A PRETTY WOMAN SITS DOWN NEXT TO HIM. HE QUICKLY TWISTS THE WEDDING RING OFF HIS FINGER. DUNN FLIRTS EARNESTLY.
"HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO BE IN PHILADELPHIA?" HE ASKS. BUT THE PRETTY WOMAN ISN'T INTERESTED. SO DUNN CONTINUES TO STARE OUT THE TRAIN WINDOW. THE ROAR OF A PASSING TRAIN CATCHES HIS ATTENTION. HE TURNS HIS HEAD SLOWLY TOWARDS THE NOISE. THAT'S ALL HE REMEMBERS. THAT IS, UNTIL HE WAKES UP AT THE CITY HOSPITAL. OF 118 PASSENGERS AND SEVEN CREW MEMBERS, DUNN IS THE ONLY SURVIVOR OF THE TRAIN WRECK. BUT WHAT'S INEXPLICABLE IS HOW DUNN SURVIVED THE TRAIN WRECK WITHOUT SUFFERING A SINGLE SCRATCH.
A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER NAMED ELIJAH PRICE (SAMUEL L. JACKSON) HAS AN EXPLANATION FOR DUNN: PRICE BELIEVES THE ANSWER LIES WITHIN HIS ELABORATE COMIC BOOK COLLECTION. GRANTED, PRICE IS SOMEWHAT OF A MYSTERY HIMSELF. HE'S AFFLICTED WITH A GENETIC DISORDER THAT MAKES HIS BONES BRITTLE, SUSCEPTIBLE TO BREAKAGE. DUNN AND PRICE ARE AN UNLIKELY PAIR: ONE OF THEM IS LITERALLY UNBREAKABLE, WHILE THE OTHER BREAKS EASILY. TOGETHER, THEY CREATE A REAL FEELING OF MYSTERY AND WONDER.
UNBREAKABLE CASTS DUNN AS AN UNEXPECTED HERO. HE'S A MIDDLE-AGED MAN FILLED WITH REGRETS. AN INJURY STOLE AWAY HIS SHOT AT A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL CAREER. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS WIFE, AUDREY (ROBIN WRIGHT PENN), IS TENUOUS AT BEST. HE HAS LITTLE MONEY. ONLY DUNN'S TEEN-AGE SON RESPECTS HIM FOR WHO HE IS. BASICALLY, THERE'S A GOOD REASON WHY DUNN IS SO SOMBER.
INSTEAD OF ELABORATE CAR CHASES AND INCREDIBLE STUNTS, UNBREAKABLE BUILDS ITS SUSPENSE SLOWLY BY EXAMINING DUNN'S TORTURED PSYCHE. IT'S DEPRESSING HOW HE SLEEPWALKS THROUGH HIS LIFE. DUNN IS ANYTHING BUT A CONVENTIONAL HERO. IN FACT, HE'S A MOVIEMADE ANTI-HERO. IT'S UNFATHOMABLE HOW A MAN AS BLAND AND ORDINARY AS DUNN COULD ALSO BE SOMEONE WITH EXTRAORDINARY POWERS.
THERE ARE MOMENTS WHEN UNBREAKABLE APPEARS THEMATICALLY FRACTURED. IT'S AS IF CERTAIN SCENES DON'T FIT WITH SURROUNDING PORTIONS OF THE MOVIE. DURING A KITCHEN-TABLE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN DUNN AND HIS FAMILY, UNBREAKABLE ALMOST LOSES CONTROL OF ITS TIGHTLY WOUND DRAMA. ITS DIALOGUE VEERS TOWARD THE LUDICROUS.
STILL, I ADMIRE SHYAMALAN FOR ATTEMPTING SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH UNBREAKABLE. I LIKE THAT THE FILM IS COOL AND DISTANT. UNBREAKABLE HOLDS TIGHT TO DUNN'S CORE MYSTERY. THE RESULT IS A TALE THAT'S DELIBERATE, SUBTLE AND COMPLEX. THERE ARE NONE OF THE CONVENTIONAL JOLTS WE EXPERIENCE IN MORE TYPICAL HOLLYWOOD THRILLERS. UNBREAKABLE PUSHES ITS KEY TRAIN DISASTER OFF-SCREEN. DUNN'S NYLON JACKET, THE WORD "SECURITY" SPELLED ACROSS ITS BACK, BECOMES IMPORTANT. AN ANONYMOUS NOTE ATTACHED TO DUNN'S CAR HOLDS MORE SIGNIFICANCE: "HOW MANY DAYS OF YOUR LIFE HAVE YOU BEEN SICK?"
AFTER WATCHING UNBREAKABLE, THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT SHYAMALAN IS A GIFTED FILMMAKER. HIS CAMERA MOVEMENTS, ALONG WITH EDUARDO SERRA'S PHOTOGRAPHY, RE-CREATE DUNN'S LIFE WITH A LUMBERING PACE. AT A TIME WHEN MOST HOLLYWOOD FILMS EMPHASIZE ACTION AND SPECIAL EFFECTS, UNBREAKABLE IS DELIBERATELY SLOW AND CHARACTER-DRIVEN. THE SIXTH SENSE ESTABLISHED SHYAMALAN AS A MAJOR PLAYER. WHILE I STILL FIND FAULT WITH HIS TRITE, CHILDHOOD DRAMA WIDE AWAKE, AS WELL AS THE SIXTH SENSE FOR SHIFTING FROM A SUPERNATURAL TALE TO HIGH MELODRAMA, I REMAIN CONVINCED THAT SHYAMALAN IS A FILM ARTIST. THERE IS TENSION IN HIS CAMERA MOVEMENT. HE CAPTURES THE BODY LANGUAGE THAT DEFINES THE FRAGILE RELATIONSHIPS CONNECTING DUNN WITH HIS FAMILY, AND ULTIMATELY, WITH THE EERIE PRICE. MORE IMPORTANTLY HE ALLOWS WILLIS AND JACKSON TO COMMAND THE FILM WITH TWO APPROPRIATELY, UNDERSTATED PERFORMANCES.
UNDER SHYAMALAN'S GUIDANCE, UNBREAKABLE IS SHADES OF GRAY AND BLACK. HE MAINTAINS A GRIM AND THREADBARE SETTING. THE RESULT IS A FILM THAT BUILDS A POWERFUL SENSE OF FOREBODING TRAGEDY.
THERE ARE MOMENTS OF PHOTOGRAPHIC BRILLIANCE WHEN UNBREAKABLE LEAVES IT CHARACTERS BEHIND AT A COOL DISTANCE. DUNN STANDS ALONE IN THE SHADOWY ENTRY OF A COLLEGE FOOTBALL STADIUM. PRICE SITS SILENTLY IN HIS WHEELCHAIR, PARKED IN THE AISLE OF A COMIC BOOK SHOP. FINALLY, IN A CLIMACTIC MOMENT OF SURPRISE, PRICE REVEALS TO DUNN THE REAL MEANING OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP. UNDER THE GLOW OF SURROUNDING COMPUTER SCREENS AND COUNTLESS COMIC BOOK COVERS, SHYAMALAN CASTS THE TRUTH IN A SURREAL GLOW.
I HOPE THE SUCCESS OF THE SIXTH SENSE ALLOWS SHYAMALAN TO MAKE HIS MOVIES ON HIS OWN TERMS WHILE STILL ENJOYING THE LUXURY OF STUDIO SUPPORT. IF THAT HAPPENS, SHYAMALAN HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME AMERICAN FILM'S NEXT KUBRICK, AT A TIME WHEN AMERICAN FILM DESPERATELY NEEDS A NEXT KUBRICK.
IT MAY SOUND FOOLISH TO SAY SO, BUT I BELIEVE THAT UNBREAKABLE IS A SPIRITUAL FILM. SHYAMALAN HAS CREATED A WORK THAT IS EMOTIONALLY REVEALING, PERCEPTIVE, SUBTLE AND HUMANISTIC. ITS CORE MESSAGE IS HEARTFELT: IN THE EYES OF EVERY SON, A FATHER IS A SECRET SUPERHERO. MUCH OF UNBREAKABLE'S MAGIC HAS TO DO WITH THE FILM'S STARK PHOTOGRAPHY. BUT ITS TRUE STRENGTH IS IN WILLIS' MELANCHOLY FACE. YOU SEE LAYERS OF SADNESS WITHIN WILLIS' EYES. FOR A DIRECTOR, FINDING A FILM'S STORY WITHIN A LEAD ACTOR'S FACE IS THE GREATEST TRIUMPH OF ALL.
CityBeat grade: A.
