Intermission: 'Unbreakable' complex with several twists and turns

|tab|

|bold_on|"Unbreakable"|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and Robin Wright Penn|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Rated: PG-13|ret||ret||tab|

One thing to watch for in "The Sixth Sense" director M. Night Shyamalan's latest film is the way the lead character, played by Bruce Willis, is framed by the camera in a number of shots.|ret||ret||tab|

In the beginning sequence, the camera is looking through the space between two train seats. A little later, parallel lines of the curtains in a hospital room encompass him. Windows, doorframes and archways all come into play to make a great many scenes in "Unbreakable" appear like a (very artfully realized) comic book. I won't say much more about this fact. Make sure you're in your seat for the opening credits of the film so as not to miss the statements that appear onscreen.|ret||ret||tab|

M. Night Shyamalan is a 30-year-old spiritual director who loves working in his hometown of Philadelphia. He believes in the soul, in nature and the Hindu concept of "dharma." It appears that everyone who knows Shyamalan honestly likes him. How many other Hollywood directors can make that claim?|ret||ret||tab|

Around age 10, Shyamalan discovered his true passion was cinema. Before graduating high school he had already made more than three dozen short films.|ret||ret||tab|

He went to New York University's film school, shot an interesting documentary about average New York shopkeepers and their beliefs concerning the supernatural and then made a couple of unsuccessful stabs at feature film. "Praying With Anger" was a small-budget piece that was never released and "Wide Awake" got so screwed up by the producers that Shyamalan all but disavowed his participation.|ret||ret||tab|

Then he did a little thing called "The Sixth Sense." Starring Bruce Willis, the film was nominated for (among others) best picture, best screenplay and best director. It was acclaimed universally by critics and also has entered the top 10 of highest-grossing films of all time. |ret||ret||tab|

All of this background information comes because "Unbreakable" is a hard film to review. Even more so than trying to write about "The Sixth Sense" without giving away the surprise ending. |ret||ret||tab|

Here, the ending isn't the only thing one shouldn't give away. The twists and turns Shyamalan takes along the way make for a gripping, sometimes jarring, ride.|ret||ret||tab|

The basic premise is this: There's a train wreck in Philadelphia. Everyone on board is killed David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who walks away without so much as a scratch. |ret||ret||tab|

Needless to say, this garners a lot of attention. One person who takes more than a passing interest is Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) a man afflicted with a rare disease that makes his bones so fragile he's had 50-some-odd breaks in his life and early on was taunted by his peers as "Mr. Glass."|ret||ret||tab|

Elijah contacts Dunn and gets him thinking about his life. |ret||ret||tab|

"How many times have you been sick?" Elijah wants to know.|ret||ret||tab|

David begins to reflect on his life and we learn through a series of flashbacks that even though his budding football career was stymied by an auto accident, all may not be as it seems. What really happened in the car wreck? He nearly drowned as a child; does this have a connection to the events of the present?|ret||ret||tab|

Shyamalan works these scenes perfectly. His main character is as baffled by his life as is the audience.|ret||ret||tab|

To say much more would only spoil the pleasure of watching a unique and well-crafted movie unfold. "Unbreakable" will not have the impact (and unwarranted comparisons are a given) of "The Sixth Sense," but it's a fine film, much in the tradition of classic "Twilight Zone" episodes that were scripted by such great fantasy writers as Richard Matheson, Rod Serling and especially, Charles Beaumont.|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)[[In-content Ad]]