Underrated film

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2018)

When I think of my favorite filmmakers, M. Night Shyamalan doesn't even usually register. I know he's made some suspect flicks ever since his early successes in the late 90s/early 00s, with a recent re-juvenation with the highly acclaimed blockbuster Split and the pending Glass which feels like another surefire success. In between, he's definitely made some head-scratchers, although I kind of enjoyed The Visit more than I thought I would. While The Sixth Sense is probably considered his best film among most, I honestly was kind of bored by it and think it was a wee bit pretentious. I actually believe his best films (so far) are between Split and this one I'm reviewing UNBREAKABLE (2000).

I'm not the biggest fan of either Bruce Willis or Samuel L. Jackson, but this might actually be arguably the best film that either of them have been in! Yeah, I know they were both in this popular flick called Pulp Fiction and have separately been in a lot of good stuff, but in terms of quality, the level of their acting, the naturalistic writing, atmosphere, and direction, this is probably the true best film either of them have done, in my opinion. And, to me, unlike the rather gimmicky Pulp Fiction which looks dated 20+ years later, Unbreakable looks like a flick that looks fresh even in 2018.
Willis is superb as David Dunn, a depressed family man who is a native Philadelphian (film's setting, duh it's Shamalyan! LOL) and works as security at the city's football stadium. In the film's opening Dunn survives a train derailment that killed every passenger except him. Upon being released, David is reunited with his wife Audrey (strong performance by Robin Wright) and son Joseph (impressive work by Spencer Treat Clark). David was on a job interview in New York and planning to divorce Audrey, who he's lived in an estranged marriage for years.
News of the tragedy piques the interest of another native Philadelphian Elijah Price (brilliantly played by Jackson). Price is a collector of classic comic books and owns a his own art gallery. Elijah was born with a rare disease where his bones are incredibly fragile and easy to fracture. He's suffered multiple bone breaks during his life and walks with a cane. Price contacts Dunn and theorizes that David is the opposite of him, a human with superpowers and encourages David to embrace his gift.
The film is a provocative, interesting exploration into the possibility of a person actually having superhuman abilities and the pressure, strain, and responsibility that goes along with it. David was also an ex-football player whose career was ruined in a car accident many years earlier, so this new "gift" is like a second calling for him.
Shyamalan occupies the film with a sequence of strong, character-driven scenes that build up exquisitely through dialogue and character. No explosions, no CGI, no car chases, just good old-fashioned conversation. The acting is uniformly excellent and in addition to the aforementioned Willis, Jackson, Wright, and Clark, solid work is done by Charlayne Woodard as Elijah's mother as well as by veteran Elizabeth Lawrence (of All My Children fame) in a spooky scene at Joseph's school.
I definitely like this film more than Sixth Sense and it's probably on equal footing with Split for me. And with the pending Glass, looks like Shyamalan is back!