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Review
David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is a disillusioned man in love, life and labour. He
and his wife Audrey (Robin Wright Penn) are separated, but live in the same
house with their son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark) until Dunn can get a new job
and move out. On his way back from a job interview, Dunn becomes the only survivor
of a gruesome train crash, which killed over a hundred passengers and crew.
The wreckage is spread over a mile. No one knows how he survived.
Elijah Price (Samuel L Jackson) believes he has the answer to the question.
He has a form of osteogensis imperfecta (Brittle Bone disease) and has spent
the majority of his life in hospital, plaster casts and pain. As a distraction
from his illness, Elijah's mother gives him some comics, which become his guide
in life. You will notice the 'square jaw-bone of the hero and the pointed chin
of the villain' - it is pointed out many times by Elijah when he explains to
anyone who will listen, the physiology and psychology behind comic book characters.
As a serious comic collector and art dealer, Elijah has spent his life looking
for someone who is his opposite, someone as unbreakable as he is breakable.
Dunn and Price form an unsteady friendship and Dunn begins to realise that he
distances himself from people, including his own family, because he has not
found his true 'role' in life. Price helps Dunn realise his strengths, both
physically and mentally. Dunn seems to have a (sixth) sense and can see if people
have done evil deeds, just by touching them. When Dunn realises he can do this,
Price encourages him to use this power to help people, but as with Sixth
Sense there may be more to this than initially meets the eye.
Shyamalan, as well as being writer, director and producer of Unbreakable, has
in fact filched a large proportion of his colleagues from the set of Sixth
Sense, most obviously in the form of Willis. Joanna Johnston (Costume),
James Newton Howard (Music), Gary Barber & Roger Birnbaum (Ex Prods), Larry
Fulton (Production Designer) and Barry Mendel & Sam Mercer (Producers) were
all involved with Sixth Sense, so a supernatural element, was bound to
spill-over a little.
The film is essentially enjoyable, with a good performance by Willis and an
excellent performance from Jackson (last seen together in Die-Hard with
a Vengence). However, the characters, save possibly Elijah, are never particularly
engaging, although this is possibly the object in Dunn's case. The cinematography
is first class and several clever camera angles help keep the intrigue going.
Unbreakable wavers between mild comedy, grim scenes and wife-and-husband-getting-back-together
scenes. Add to this a dash of comic book heroes and villains, and a super Shyamalan
twist and you have a good, but slightly confused piece of work which does not
seem sure whether it should be one thing or another, so plumps for a bit of
everything. Having said that, Shyamalan has achieved well deserved success in
a relatively small space of time and will undoubtedly go on to be even more
successful and Unbreakable is certain to do well at the box office.
Sophie Mount
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