UNBREAKABLE: MY REVIEW

Rating: 7/10 (4 February 2019)

It is not a superhero origin story. Well, it kind of is, but it is not as simple as that. This is a well-crafted drama about a man going through a mid-life crisis. David Dunn is a security guard who works whatever jobs he can find. He has a son with his high school/college sweetheart and later wife, Audrey. Audrey and David are going through a tough time and it seems like the marriage is about to fall apart, much to the disappointment of their son.
Seems pretty straightforward, yes? Actually, no. We don't find out any of this until about half an hour in. We open with David on a train, returning from yet another failed job hunting expedition. He tries to flirt unsuccessfully with a sports agent, discreetly removing his wedding ring before initiating contact.
The train meets an accident, and only David has survived. Audrey, played with great sensitivity and tenderness by Robin Wright, tries to meet David halfway at the chance to restore their marriage and hopefully, the faded romance. It is a beautiful story in itself.
Enter Elijah Price, a cool, brilliant comic book historian and collector, who is intrigued by David's story, and tries to encourage him to explore his powers. Turns out, Price suffers from a rare disease which results in extreme fragility of his skeletal structure. He believes that Dunn and he are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, him being acutely delicate and Dunn being unbreakable.
In spite of dismissing Price's theories as fantastical and telling his son that he's just an ordinary man, David gradually starts honing his special skills, asking his son to promise not to tell Audrey.
I would stop here for the enjoyment of the movie is in experiencing it. It was apparently not well received when it came out in 2000. Shyamalan was ahead of the superhero boom by a decade, but it's not just that. This movie is not a conventional superhero movie even by today's standards. Shyamalan has weaved a poignant family drama into a superhero/supervillain origin story, that is unconventional up to the end. There is no exploding, blockbuster heroics. There is rich characterization and examination of ordinary lives of people, among them two who have extraordinary abilities.
I cannot not marvel at Shyamalan's ablity to create mood appropriate to the context. This is independent moviemaking at its finest. The director to serve his story utilizes the presence of two blockbuster stars in Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, and the equally talented Robin Wright.
THOUGHT AND OTHER STUFF:
Damn Elijah Price is a cold customer. His intelligence and thinly-disguised contempt at the rest of the world is cleverly portrayed by Jackson.
Bruce Willis, in his everyman hero role once again before going through a lean phase in the 2000s. I haven't seen The Assassination of a High School President, otherwise he had no good movies except Sin City in 2005 and Die Hard 4 in 2007. The Willissance would have to wait till Red (2010).
Robin Wright, such a performer. I can't believe Hollywood didn't fully utilize her talent until House of Cards came by.
Intense movie. To be watched when you have some clarity in mind and preferably not on a train.
VERDICT
Direction: 8
Acting: 7.5
Screenplay: 7.5
Score: 7
Overall: 7.5