Review of Unbreakable (2000) by Will H — 16 Jul 2011

Unbreakable is a masterfully put-together film with an engaging story, whose otherwise perfect craftsmanship is held back by its staggeringly stupid final seconds.

Having finally seen Unbreakable, I can say with even more certainty that M. Night Shyamalan's career has been one of the craziest I've ever witnessed. The Sixth Sense rightfully made him a young wunderkind, and the movie itself became a cultural phenom. Having passed up Unbreakable for reasons I can't quite remember, I then saw Signs and the... well, SIGNS were there that he was starting to fall from grace. And you know how it goes from there.

Unbreakable has some of the most unbelievably dynamic photography I've ever seen. There is a shot near the end where the camera is looking into a house through wind-swept curtains, and the curtains flap about and reveal only what needs to be revealed at that time. It's a stunning moment, one of the best single shots I've ever seen in a film. Not just that, but many other moments are punctuated by beautifully put-together shots. Some are a bit masturbatory, but they always looks great.

The story is a fresh take on the superhero origin story, and it's handled well by Bruce and Sam Jackson, who carry their roles very well. Shyamalan's writing is mostly solid, with a few bits here and there that are a bit too on the nose, but it's mostly terrific.

It's interesting watching Unbreakable after Shyamalan has become one of the most universally reviled directors in the industry. Some of the habitual shittiness that we see today is present in Unbreakable. For example, the ending.

It's an okay twist that was partially being built to, but is a bit far-fetched even for this kinda flick. However, the last 30 seconds of the film completely ruin everything. I mean really. The final moment in this film almost kills the whole experience, that's how bad it is. Since it's been quite a few years since this has been out, I will explain what it is below. Spoiler alert!

Bruce walks away after finding out Sam Jackson has been killing shitloads of people and Shyamalan FREEZE FRAMES and gives both characters a post-script! Freeze on Bruce: He called the police. Freeze on Sam: He's in a mental hospital.

I mean, HOLY SHIT. What was he THINKING?! It's a god-awful, supremely unnecessary post-script that destroys any future potential this could have had as a long-running story, and leaves the viewer without anything to chew on. It was truly one of the most hackneyed endings to an otherwise masterful film that I've ever seen. Worse than Signs, I'd say.

It's really fascinating seeing how Shyamalan's career has developed. Who was once "the next Alfred Hitchcock" has fallen so ungracefully that it's baffling that something like this could happen. Especially seeing how great Unbreakable (mostly) was. His execution of this film is almost unrivaled apart from the ending, and it makes me clamor for a return to the old way of Shyamalaning things. Here's hoping for a phoenix-like rebirth of this man.