| UNBREAKABLE |
2000 - USADirector: M. Night Shyamalan - Reviewed by Dan  Bruce
Willis wants an Oscar and M. Night Shyamalan wants to win him one. After losing
out on a nomination to his ten-year-old Sixth Sense co-star, Willis must
be hoping that Unbreakable will take him there. I think he deserves one,
but I doubt the Academy will agree.
Shyamalan as writer, director and producer provides Willis with plenty of long, slow, emotive, Oscar-friendly close-ups which contribute to the primary problem with the film—dirge-like pacing. Shouldn't the story of a man who discovers he has superhuman (even supernatural) powers because he is the sole survivor of a tragic train accident be exciting? At least kind of exciting? Maybe even briefly? One would think so. But the whole movie plays out like an extended sigh. Brief moments of humor and intrigue bubble up, but then the pacing plunges you back into a washed-out world in desperate need of prozac. I exaggerate. Unbreakable has several genuine moments, especially between Willis and his son (Spencer Treat Clark), and is a good movie overall, but would not have suffered from the efforts of an empowered editor. Samuel L. Jackson turns in another wonderful performance as Elijah Price, a connoisseur of comic-art who leads Willis' Dave Dunne along his path of self-discovery. This character's obsession with comics, and the paragraph or two which open the film by describing the habits of comic book collectors, indicate to me that Shyamalan was not solely trying to make a percolating mood-movie, but was aiming for a full-on creep-you-out thriller. Zap! Pow! Kaplooey! But when one man holds all of the creative reins, it becomes difficult to "kill the darlings," those moments which contribute little to the momentum of the plot, but boy-oh-boy, what a great shot... what a great statement... Unbreakable suffers from an overdose of darlings, even if they are easy to suffer and never waver from the overall sense of mood the director aims to create. Robin Wright as Willis' wife is not particularly likeable. I suppose she was written that way. If she had provided a moment of levity or happiness, it might've broken with the relentless impending gloom and doom which color the entire flick. Mrs. Sean Penn plays her role well. Come to think of it, has she ever played anyone likeable? Princess Bride you say? Hell, she wasn't even likeable in that! But I digress. I realize this is an unfair estimation of Robin. Sorry, I personally can't stand her. Gump included.Despite the fact that Unbreakable drags—and how—the compelling story, emotional content, fine performances and Shyamalan's unflagging loyalty to mood (sustained through two films now) add up to a "just barely" recommendation... See a matinee of Unbreakable on a cloudy afternoon. |
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