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Radio, Film & Television The Movies: The Insecurity of a Superhero ... Unbreakable
{in theatres}
The
opening scenes of Unbreakable, writer and director M. Night Shyamalan's
follow-up film to The Sixth Sense, are among the longest of the
film. After the initial set-up, Shyamalan takes us on a tour of the
underside of a possible superhero, David Dunn {Willis}, who'd rather leave such
marvels to others. As he walks from the hospital where his wife and son have come to get him, with the media flashbulbs popping off in rapid succession, we can see from both his gait and from his posture that Dunn is not simply dazed. He's also reluctant, and uncomfortable with all the attention. He wants, mainly, to get back the normality of his everyday life. But something, or rather, someone is reluctant to allow him that luxury. It's a testament to Shyamalan's direction that he can use Willis in this way, much the way he did in The Sixth Sense. Instead of the swagger and attitude, the quick quips and the boyish smile, Willis's Dunn is a brooding and faltering character. He walks slowly and slightly hunched. He seems unsure of himself, and, with the exception of when he's on the job, even unsure of what's going on around him. The smiles are absent, and he reaches for words that often seem to be beyond his grasp. In contrast to this, enter Elijah Price {Samuel L. Jackson}, an over-dressed messenger with attitude and conviction. He comes to Dunn, unbidden, to tell him his theory: Why? He wants Dunn to explain to him. Why does Dunn think he survived the wreck? Why did he not simply survive, but end up the sole survivor? ... Why won't Dunn accept the fact, obvious to Elijah Price, that Dunn is, for all intents and purposes, meant to be a superhero? ... Dunn, needless to say, listens. But he indulges Price. Really? He can't believe it. How could he? And besides, he's just not interested. ... Thus begins the real story of this taut, yet almost entirely action-less film. ... For an action-less film, you would think there'd be more to tell without 'giving it away'. But that's not the case. There are moments, many of them in fact, with incredible tension, not least of which is a scene in which Dunn's son {Joseph, played by Spencer treat Clark}, who knows of Elijah's prophecy, becomes frustrated with the lack of resolution. Unbreakable is a film, then, about the superhero of comics. Elijah takes pains, as does writer/director Shyamalan, to cast them as the background against which the plot {and there is a plot, despite what some other reviewers might have you believe} unfolds. But instead of the usual comic book fare, or the stuff dished up for Willis last decade -- those feats of strength and triumphs over evil, those stories that begin long after the superhero has learned both the extent and the single limit of his powers -- Shyamalan has provided us with a look at the beginning and, more importantly and interestingly, at the inside. ... There is a line which the character of Elijah gets to speak:
It is, as is Elijah's wont, a prophetic line -- for himself, for Dunn, and even for others we do not even know yet. But one thing is certain. ... It is not a line one ought to use in describing this film. . ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for The Movies feature, or if you simply would like to suggest something you think we ought to cover, e-mail us at ... radiofilmtv@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* |
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