Unbreakable (2000)

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

22 November 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Shattering cinemas soon.

Plot:

A suspense thriller with supernatural overtones that revolves around a man who learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.

Plot Keywords:

Comic Book | Survivor | Train | Sole Survivor | Superhero

Awards:

2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	David Dunn
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Elijah Price
Robin Wright Penn	...	Audrey Dunn
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Joseph Dunn
Charlayne Woodard	...	Elijah's Mother
Eamonn Walker	...	Dr. Mathison
Leslie Stefanson	...	Kelly
Johnny Hiram Jamison	...	Elijah Age 13
Michaelia Carroll	...	Babysitter
Bostin Christopher	...	Comic Book Clerk
Elizabeth Lawrence	...	School Nurse
David Duffield	...	David Dunn Age 20
Laura Regan	...	Audrey Inverso Age 20
Chance Kelly	...	Orange Suit Man
Michael Kelly	...	Doctor Dubin

Also Known As:

No Ordinary Man (USA) (working title)
Untitled M. Night Shyamalan Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including some disturbing violent content, and for a crude sexual reference.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS-ES

Certification:

Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Brazil:12 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | Japan:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-14 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:16 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37802)

Filming Locations:

Franklin Field - 235 S. 33rd Street, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Several camera angles were chosen to simulate the comic book device of a frame around each scene.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Mr. Glass gets his first comic book on the playground bench in 1974, the cover of the book depicts as a backdrop the Philadelphia skyline, featuring predominantly Two Liberty Place, which was not built until 1990.

Quotes:

Elijah Price: You made that decision, and I find that very, very interesting. Now all I need is your credit card number...

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Sky High (2005)

Soundtrack:

Prelude in G major, BWV 902 (from 'Prelude and Fughetta in G major')

Rich yet subtle

My kudos to M. Night Shyamalan for proving the consistency of his moviemaking abilities. "Unbreakable" is a movie that is rich in both technical brilliance as well as script quality.

First, let me get my one objection for the movie off my chest. The ending could have been done better. The majority of the length of "Unbreakable" does an excellent job of building suspense, with the wonderfully muted, melancholy acting adding depth and tension to the plot. My problem is that it fails to live up to its own expectations; the ending does not consummate entirely what I expected it to. Somehow, in a movie that took painstaking details to illustrate every step and glance, concluding it in the manner that it did felt almost blasphemous. Maybe in a nameless action thriller it could be passed off as mere hackery. But here, it seems strangely out of place, kind of an enigma in itself...

Now that the ugly part is over with, I feel almost obligated to sing the praises of "Unbreakable". Shyamalan's prowess with photographic techniques and processes shows through in this, with rich reds and blacks given to scenes of moist emotion and colder colors dedicated to the bleak, uncaring (uncared for?) world. One technique I particularly liked was the manipulation of photographic mediums, some parts using crisp 35mm films and others using angry, shuttered magnetic (or 16mm?) film. In the end, it all worked very well, because each technique seemed to integrate seamlessly with the plot and mood (notice the confusion and panic at the very end?) "Traffic" is a good example of processing overdose. "Unbreakable", on the other hand, hones it perfectly. The lushness of this movie comes in close second to the wonderful eye candy of "American Beauty". I could watch it again easily... with the sound turned off!

On the more human side of the spectrum, the acting was wonderful. How nice it is to see Bruce Willis proving himself to be a true A-class actor! His unassuming and insecure behavior worked *perfectly* for this role. Samuel L. Jackson, like always, did a bang-up job with what the script gave him. Robin Wright and Spencer Clark's characters seemed a bit two dimensional, but they seemed to be minor roles compared to the prominence of Willis and Jackson's characters. A little character development would have been appreciated, but if the ending was a result of the time-constraint guillotine, then I would expect the developmental scenes to have gone too.

The thing that people seem to complain most about this movie is the plot. I like the premise. A little fantasy in our movies isn't such a bad thing once in a while, is it?