A spoiler-free look at the follow up to UNBREAKABLE and SPLIT
In anticipation of the release of M. Night Shyamalan’s new film Glass, the Alamo Drafthouse held a special marathon screening along with the two prequels–Unbreakable and Split–in what they pithily referred to as the “Shyamalanathon.” It’s got a certain ring to it.
Seeing all three films together showed just how great of an arc Shyamalan had tapped into over these last almost 20 years. To be sure, the first two hold up well, and in Glass, the director has captured much of what made those two long-lasting favorites.
UNBREAKABLE
In the Q&A that was a part of the festivities, Shyamalan observed in an almost detached way that his 2000 film, so obviously a superhero movie, presaged and completely missed the zeitgeist that would lead to the explosion of comic movies starting only a few years later. Some of that he took ownership of by stating that he should have insisted on it being marketed that way instead of as some horror offshoot which it clearly isn’t.
What is clear is that Unbreakable is a finely crafted work that does exactly what it sets out to by asking the question, “What would a superhero look like in real life?” The answer here is David Dunn, a sad sack with powers he slowly becomes aware of.
What struck me most in this rewatch is just how subdued Willis is as Dunn. The role that first brought him to stardom was David Addison on the television series Moonlighting. Creator Glenn Gordon Caron said the main impetus for picking Willis was his physical ability to speaking enough syllables per minute to deliver the packed lines. As Dunn, Willis barely had to string more than two sentences together.
And it worked. Alongside a near-perfect Robin Wright as his beleaguered wife, and Samuel L. Jackson as soon-to-be headlining Mr. Glass, the cast of Unbreakable carries the film to its current status as Shyamalan’s greatest movie without a number in the title.
SPLIT
If Unbreakable was heavily dependent on its actors, then Split lives or dies based on the work of one such player, the unparalleled James McAvoy. While ostensibly a serial killer, viewing the film again shows just how much pathos McAvoy puts into each and every member of “The Horde.” If nine-year-old Hedwig doesn’t alternately break and swell your heart, the it’s not working properly. (Ironically, the one personality that falls flat is the Godot of the piece, “The Beast.”)
The women of the film are great as well, from a young Haley Lu Richardson to Eight Is Enough’s Betty Buckley, and especially Anya Taylor-Joy in a role that seems tailor-made for her. That it gets tied into the Unbreakable-verse is just the cherry on top for a movie that puts some amazing acting chops on display.
GLASS
The success of Glass is what it get right in appropriating from both of the previous movies. Willis, McAvoy, and Jackson are of course brought back for this culminating event, but the film also made the right call in putting Taylor-Joy back in her role as Horde-whisperer. The pièce de résistance is the return of Spencer Treat Clark as a no-longer young Joseph Dunn. He’s the perfectly aged companion to Willis’s aging avenger.
McAvoy not only gets to reprise his role(s) but is given even more bites at the multiple-personality apple. Old favorites like Dennis, Patricia, and Hedwig make the cut, but so do many more (including one whose native tongue isn’t English).
Then there’s Glass himself. Mr., to you. Jackson has both moments of subtle psychosis and scene-chewing vitality. He begins the film somewhat in the background but eventually ties the story together through his machinations.
Whether or not Glass lives up to expectations all depends on what one needs from this type of M. Night Shyamalan film. Viewed on its own, Glass features lots of compelling narrative and more good times with characters we love, or are at least fascinated by. The inevitable wrap might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the question will have to be asked as to if it served its source material well, whether or not it creates a story-boarded whiplash.
This is a trilogy that goes well together like queso, a Royale with Cheese, and warm chocolate chip cookies from the Drafthouse. (Personal preference. Your Menu May Vary.) I wish more theaters were able to offer this experience to viewers, and not just as a publicity event before the movie is widely released. Shymalan as been through many ups and downs in his career, but with these three films, he shows what he’s capable of at this stage of the game.
Glass opens nationwide on January 18, 2019.
