The M.Night before Thanksgiving

Willis, Jackson prove 'Unbreakable' in Shyamalan's newest

By Christopher Cousino

Daily Arts Writer

Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan could not have expected to top his surprise success, "The Sixth Sense," an Academy Award nominee with a solid script and the acting talents of Haley Joel Osment and Bruce Willis (who also stars in "Unbreakable"). Thus, Shyamalan settled for a genre picture - almost. With his latest film, the former Philadelphian returns again to his hometown to craft the latest comic book super hero movie, the first in a long time that actually has a real character and cares about people in leu of flashy special effects, skin tight nipple enhanced costumes or ridiculously paced plots and action sequences.

Willis portrays David Dunn, your average middle-aged Joe whose waning marriage to his college sweetheart Audrey (Robin Wright Penn) and position as security guard at the local college football stadium are on the outs. When he returns home from an interview in New York, the train he rides suddenly breaks off the tracks, which results in the deaths of 131 passengers - everyone, except for miraculously Dunn, who walks away without a scratch.

The near death experience gives Dunn a second chance with his wife and his young son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), who sees his father as any boy does - superman. With "Unbreakable," Shyamalan makes an ode to fathers everywhere, literally and figuratively embellishing the idea that your dad is a super hero, that he's stronger and tougher than the rest and he's indestructible (Joseph asks, "Do you think you could have beaten up Bruce Lee?"). Here, for one, is why Shyamalan is so fresh and crisp - he takes a basic idea and transforms it into a real human story, one about fathers and sons, cracked marriages and the basic struggles amidst a self-pitying, defeatist world.

"These are mediocre times," says the mysterious Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) to Dunn when the two first meet after Price leaves a cryptic note on the hood of Dunn's car, asking, "When was the last time you were sick?" Price, a man afflicted by osteogensis imperfecta, a rare disease that causes his bones to break easily (54 times to be exact), senses a spiritual-like connection with the seemingly "unbreakable" Dunn. The pair form a bond as Price tries to convince Dunn that he has been given a special quality, a theory that he adamantly rejects but his son firmly believes.

Shyamalan doesn't waste time with silly, inane action scenes; we've seen these time and time again in superhero movies where the good and bad guys fight, the bad guys start to kick ass but then, at the last possible moment, the hero ultimately regains strength or mind to win the battle. Instead, Shyamalan treats his audience with a character study of Dunn, of him coming to terms with his own power and sense of self in the world. Scenes such as one involving a breakfast where Joseph "threatens" to shoot his father to prove his power and one with a fearful dive into a covered swimming pool are so fresh and intense that they jump off the screen.

An ode to comic books and the comic's form of storytelling and structure, "Unbreakable" is loaded with shots of comics on the racks as well as a prelude of statistics about the comic book market, buyers, etc. You get a sense that Shyamalan was a comic book kid and that his film is a little swan song to the longstanding art form of the comic. Much of this seethes out of the words and wisdom of Price, who spent more time with the heroes and villians in the tiny boxes during his hospital stays than with other kids his age.

While Price remains a mystery through the entire film, Jackson's eeriness (much due to his wide-eyed look like he took the red-eye a few too many times between LA and the Philly film shoots) keeps his character believable and effective. However, like Price, or "Mr. Glass" as the kids would call him, Shylaman's script loses a leg or so. Price is such a mystery that Shylaman leaves the audience in the dark on his overall character a little too long; for much of the film, he works simply as a catalyst for Dunn.

Though Price is not as clearly defined as he could be and the twist ending (yes, there is another one) has its flaws, Shylaman scores again in the supernatural thriller realm with "Unbreakable." Filled with the same darkish cool tones of "The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable" is a moody, subtle film that's really about finding your place in the world and knowing who you are. Sound like the tagline for another "X-Men" flick? God help us.

Courtesy of Touchstone

"I just don't dig on swine." Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis star in "Unbreakable."