Unbreakable

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2001)

At first you get the impression that the artistic success of "The Sixth Sense" has gone to Shyamalan's head - for the first quarter-hour or more every other shot is pointlessly arty. The scene on the train is terribly done: camera peering through a gap in the seats, shifting from side to side because it can't get a good view. Then there's that moment when Elijah is given his first comic, and the camera moves overhead until it is shooting directly down, then swivels 540 degrees in a comic-synchronous position. The very first scene is shot through a mirror for no reason at all. The pointlessness of these gestures wouldn't matter if they were at all pleasant to look at, but they're not - neither pleasant nor unpleasant, merely pretentious.
But when all the scene-setting is out of the way, just when we're near despair, Shyamalan decides to settle down into, and trust, his story, which is a good one. His earnest cinematic style becomes functional and attractive, just as it was in "The Sixth Sense" (if not quite to the same degree). Perhaps this earnest style is the very best thing about the film. Few modern writers and directors are as courageous as Shyamalan: most would be too timid to take their material as seriously as this.
If anything it's more cleverly constructed than "The Sixth Sense". The only thing making it an inferior film (apart from the clumsy artiness of the opening) is the fact that the fantasy scenario isn't as interesting or emotionally powerful this time - not that this is anything to be ashamed of. Neither joky, cynical, self-referential nor self-effacing in its desire to entertain... it's a pleasure to watch.