Unbreakable film review

certificate_12

UNBREAKABLE

Director M Night Shyamalan exploration of the supernatural as well as the world seen through the eyes of a child continues in his latest film Unbreakable. This is an engrossing film which lingers in the mind for days after viewing. Eschewing the cinema of shock editing so prevalent in his previous work, this is a much more pensive (albeit occasionally pedestrian) film with a satisfyingly surprising and effective ending.

In his second film with the director, Bruce Willis plays David Dunn, a football stadium security guard with a troubled marriage to wife Megan (Robin Wright Penn) and an adoring son Jeremy (Spencer Treat Clark). Returning to Philadelphia after a job interview in New York, Dunn catches the wrong train, as it derails and kills everyone on board. Everyone except Dunn, that is. Not only does he escape the carnage but he is completely unscathed by the accident and does not carry a single scar.

Shortly after the incident Dunn is contacted by Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a comic dealer whose life is blighted by weak bones. Price's tragic condition is the polar opposite of Dunn's. He believes there is more to Dunn's miraculous escape than meets the eye, and he forces Dunn to re-evaluate his life in the light of what he tells him. While Dunn initially dismisses Price as little more than a slightly crazed obsessive, certain events occur which compel him to take the comic dealer's words more seriously. The relationship between Dunn and Price is the bedrock of the movie, and thanks to two highly effective performances by Willis and Jackson, it is both believable and compelling.

The standard of acting is equally high in the supporting roles: Robin Wright Penn and Spencer Treat Clark both excel as the wife and son. The boy idolises his father and is desperate for his parents to resolve their ailing marriage. Shyamalan has coaxed yet another shining performance from a young actor who hero-worships his father, and his childish desires for perfect family happiness are highly evocative.

This is not a film without flaws: occasionally it feels too slow, a couple of key plot points feel forced and the final credits are preceded by a ludicrous written summation. Nevertheless, it contains many good things that make it a must-see movie: Shyamalan's wonderful sense of composition, excellent performances and of course an unexpected denouement that once again makes the viewer ask 'Now, why didn't I see that coming?'