I was initially disappointed with the climax of this film. My heart sank, not so much because of what had occurred in the movie but because I felt that my growing admiration for M. Night Shyamalan had been seriously damaged. The climax felt trite, contrived, and thoroughly unrewarding. I felt for a moment that the things Night's detractors had said about him were true. That is, until I took the DVD out and decided to give what I had just seen some serious thought. After a few minutes the realization sank in: the climax to Unbreakable is the only conclusion it could logically have come to, given everything that precedes it and given the themes it develops. In this way it is nearly on par with The Sixth Sense.
Ostensibly, this is a film concerning the relationship between David Dunn (Bruce Willis), the lone survivor of a train derailment, and Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a collector and afficianado of comic books. Elijah believes Dunn to be the superhero he has been looking for all his life, the exact opposite of himself, as Elijah has been afflicted since birth with a medical condition which causes his bones to break very easily. The story follows Elijah's efforts to convince Dunn that he is truly a superhero. But in Unbreakable, as with most of Night's films, there are many different stories and themes inter-acting with one another. On the simplest level, it's a story about a superhero, his classic reluctance to attain to his role due to a quiet humility and a lack of selfish ambition. It's also a love story, and, as is typical with Night's masterful storytelling, there are several love relationships being examined: father and son (Dunn and Joseph), mother and son (Elijah and his mother), and husband and wife. Intertwined with that there is a story of frustration, anger, resentment, and evil. Since this is a film about opposites, there are equal glimpses into the workings of good and evil, and the various types and magnitudes of both. On the side of the good we see the common love of parents for their children, the sacrifice of a promising career and great success for the sake of romantic love, and the selfless intervention at the scene of a horrendous crime to save the innocent. On the side of evil we see petty theft, barbarous torture and murder, and calculated, catastrophic massacre.
I could go on and on about the possible themes treated in this amazing film. The one that really jumped out at me is the old argument between Freewill and Determinism. How Elijah Price comes to be the person he is is brilliantly executed, especially in a flashback scene where his mother entices her son to go outside and get a gift she has left for him on a park bench. The gift turns out to be a comic book, and Elijah's mother tells him that she has bought many of them. So Elijah is rewarded for his virtuous effort of going out into a dangerous world by acquiring access to a fantasy world where heroism and virtue are delineated with vivid clarity. But being the intelligent child that he is, Elijah also sees that for every hero there is a villain, for every act of good, a contrary act of evil; for every good thing, a bad thing: a balance. It is not for nothing that when Elijah opens the gift the comic book is upside down. He will see things upside down at another point in the film, and there is a strong thematic purpose behind it, as there is a strong thematic purpose in his interest, even obsession, with comics.
What has this to do with freewill versus determinism? A lot. Was Elijah's personality mapped out for him by his initial circumstances? Certainly his medical disability is not his choice, but to what extent does the vulnerability and weakness caused by that disorder effect his character, his life choices, his destiny? Some would say a great deal, others would say his choices were entirely his own despite the disadvantages he was beset with. It's a huge ethical issue which goes far beyond the parameters of a simple superhero flick. And it's an issue which in bygone days I thought I was decided on, but which now leaves me entangled in doubt and wonder.
Unbreakable is also a study in the struggle for identity and sense of purpose, and in this respect it has something in common with the later film, Lady in the Water. Unbreakable is a darker film, but ultimately, no less hopeful.
Ostensibly, this is a film concerning the relationship between David Dunn (Bruce Willis), the lone survivor of a train derailment, and Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a collector and afficianado of comic books. Elijah believes Dunn to be the superhero he has been looking for all his life, the exact opposite of himself, as Elijah has been afflicted since birth with a medical condition which causes his bones to break very easily. The story follows Elijah's efforts to convince Dunn that he is truly a superhero. But in Unbreakable, as with most of Night's films, there are many different stories and themes inter-acting with one another. On the simplest level, it's a story about a superhero, his classic reluctance to attain to his role due to a quiet humility and a lack of selfish ambition. It's also a love story, and, as is typical with Night's masterful storytelling, there are several love relationships being examined: father and son (Dunn and Joseph), mother and son (Elijah and his mother), and husband and wife. Intertwined with that there is a story of frustration, anger, resentment, and evil. Since this is a film about opposites, there are equal glimpses into the workings of good and evil, and the various types and magnitudes of both. On the side of the good we see the common love of parents for their children, the sacrifice of a promising career and great success for the sake of romantic love, and the selfless intervention at the scene of a horrendous crime to save the innocent. On the side of evil we see petty theft, barbarous torture and murder, and calculated, catastrophic massacre.
I could go on and on about the possible themes treated in this amazing film. The one that really jumped out at me is the old argument between Freewill and Determinism. How Elijah Price comes to be the person he is is brilliantly executed, especially in a flashback scene where his mother entices her son to go outside and get a gift she has left for him on a park bench. The gift turns out to be a comic book, and Elijah's mother tells him that she has bought many of them. So Elijah is rewarded for his virtuous effort of going out into a dangerous world by acquiring access to a fantasy world where heroism and virtue are delineated with vivid clarity. But being the intelligent child that he is, Elijah also sees that for every hero there is a villain, for every act of good, a contrary act of evil; for every good thing, a bad thing: a balance. It is not for nothing that when Elijah opens the gift the comic book is upside down. He will see things upside down at another point in the film, and there is a strong thematic purpose behind it, as there is a strong thematic purpose in his interest, even obsession, with comics.
What has this to do with freewill versus determinism? A lot. Was Elijah's personality mapped out for him by his initial circumstances? Certainly his medical disability is not his choice, but to what extent does the vulnerability and weakness caused by that disorder effect his character, his life choices, his destiny? Some would say a great deal, others would say his choices were entirely his own despite the disadvantages he was beset with. It's a huge ethical issue which goes far beyond the parameters of a simple superhero flick. And it's an issue which in bygone days I thought I was decided on, but which now leaves me entangled in doubt and wonder.
Unbreakable is also a study in the struggle for identity and sense of purpose, and in this respect it has something in common with the later film, Lady in the Water. Unbreakable is a darker film, but ultimately, no less hopeful.
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