“Staff Picks” is a deeper look into movies that we love here at Video CULTure. Each edition of this column will focus on a single film that we think you should check out, either for the first time or for a long-overdue revisit
By Patrick Bartlett (Twitter: @alleywaykrew)
For the longest time, “Unbreakable” was the only film by M. Night Shyamalan that I really liked. To be honest, it actually took a while before I was even willing to give it a chance. I wasn’t really interested in his other work and this seemed like more of the same to me at the time. It wasn’t until I heard about a lot of the little comic book easter eggs that were present that I finally did check it out and kicked myself for waiting so long. It’s definitely different from almost everything in the superhero genre that came before and still holds up as one of the better examples of superhero cinema despite that. In many ways, Shyamalan’s approach being so unique is what puts it on a higher plane than its peers. Despite its star power and therefore the undeniable fact that money was clearly spent here, it’s not a blockbuster in the traditional sense. It’s not action-packed. It’s not particularly action-oriented at all. It’s a melancholy film about people who feel like real people in the real world. It just happens that two of the central characters of the piece turn out to ultimately be traditional comic book archetypes.
I think the best description of “Unbreakable” came when Quentin Tarantino described it as “what if Superman was here on Earth and didn’t know he was Superman?”. In that respect, it’s among the best versions of that mythos. Even without that, it’s still unique in a time when superhero movies have become the norm partially because of the film’s tone but also for a reason that it shouldn’t feel unique: “Unbreakable” is a superhero movie that was actually made to mimic the look of superhero comics. Despite M. Night Shyamalan creating his own character and not adapting an existing character or group of characters to the screen, the way he composes this film shows an understanding of superhero comics in a way that other similar films don’t. Shots composed like comic book panels and colors made to pop like comics of the silver age in the midst of an almost monochromatic world. It’s not necessarily something one would notice on first viewing but is something that gave me such respect for Shyamalan once I finally did. In fact, his understanding of what a superhero movie should be has only become more fascinating in recent years.
The actual plot of the film is that a man named David Dunn (played by Bruce Willis) is on his way back from a job interview on a train that ends up derailing. Everyone else on the train dies. Somehow, he’s completely unharmed. The sole survivor. For lack of any explanation, it’s essentially chalked up to some sort of bizarre anomaly. A miracle. It’s not long after that he meets a man named Elijah Price (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who tries to convince him that he, David Dunn, is actually superhuman. Dunn’s son instantly believes this and tries to aid Elijah in convincing him while Dunn continues to assert to them both that he’s simply an ordinary man. However, more and more evidence comes to light during the course of the story that suggests that perhaps Price is correct and there may be more to David than even he knows.
In retrospect, Samuel L. Jackson playing a guy recruiting a superhero and helping him understand his place in the universe is pretty funny when you realize that he’d end up spending over a decade playing a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe doing the same thing. If you’ve seen “Unbreakable”, you know it’s a totally different vibe though. I don’t know if something from a movie that’s been out for decades can really be spoiled per se but if you haven’t seen the film, you should probably watch it and return to this later. Anyway, the obvious difference in this case is that Jackson’s not playing a heroic figure in “Unbreakable”. He’s the archvillain to Bruce Willis’ superhero. Now, that was positioned as a twist at the end of the film…but if you read superhero comics closely, it was a reveal that you spent the whole movie waiting for. As sympathetic as Jackson’s performance is as Price, the character was always a ticking time bomb. With Dunn being unbreakable and Price being so fragile, it’s a dichotomy instantly recognizable to any comic book fan. Batman represents order while the Joker represents chaos, Iron Man represents science while the Mandarin represents magic, etc. When you have 2 characters that are complete and total opposites, one can usually assume they will be each other’s great enemy. The reason the reveal does function as a twist is almost completely due to what Jackson brings to the role though. He’s in no way going over the top, chewing the scenery…there’s nothing that Jackson is doing that doesn’t feel real. There’s nothing that doesn’t feel like a man who has clearly dealt with a lot of pain in his life and how that has ultimately manifested itself in the path he chooses. It’s one of the most underrated performances by one of the greatest actors of a generation.
I will go to the grave telling people that while his greatest and most iconic performance is almost certainly John McClane in “Die Hard”, David Dunn is damn close to that spot as well. The sheer wonderful humanity that Willis brings to both characters is their strength but his approach to Dunn is legitimately fascinating to me in a completely different way. Willis brings zero machismo to the role. No wisecracking. None of the stuff that are often hallmarks of his work. David Dunn feels like a real man who has accepted an incredibly ordinary place in the world, despite it eating him alive from the inside out. The sadness of that is evident from the first frame. It’s revealed in the film that despite his acumen, he faked an injury to get out of college football to have the opportunity to marry to the woman who would eventually become his wife. Even with that, he’s dangerously close to losing her at the beginning of the film. With his chosen life disintegrating, Dunn is a man that has clearly all but given up before discovering what may be his true path is and the sheer crushing weight of that can be felt every second one spends looking at Bruce Willis onscreen here. It’s a performance that doesn’t get enough credit from an actor that doesn’t always merit that much positivity for their performances at all. In this case, there’s just not enough praise that I can heap upon the man.
I never have been and probably never will be the biggest fan of the cinematic works of M. Night Shyamalan. That being said, it’s clear that what he did with “Unbreakable” is something I can’t help but champion despite that fact. It’s just such a shock to the system in the best possible way. This was a superhero movie WAY before superhero movies were as mainstream as they would ultimately become. Even still, “Unbreakable” still stands apart decades later because of how different it felt then and how fresh it still feels now, despite all that has come since. Hell, “Unbreakable” stands apart even in the context of the other films in the trilogy set in this universe. It’s just such an interesting and unique film in a genre that just isn’t those things all that often. I’ve heard this is his favorite of his own work and it absolutely should be. As divisive as his works as a filmmaker can be, the fact that M. Night Shyamalan made superhero cinema that I don’t think could be easily written off and dismissed is truly a spectacular achievement that he should be eternally proud of.
To find out where this film is available to stream, click here: Just Watch