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Unbreakable: Why It Is M. Night Shyamalan’s Best Film

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Released in 2000, Unbreakable was filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan ’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated breakout The Sixth Sense , and sought to ground the superhero genre in Shyamalan’s trademark thriller styling . It follows David Dunn (Bruce Willis), the lone survivor of a train crash, who comes to realize that he may be the world’s first living superhero. While the concept of a realistic superhero wasn’t new, Shyamalan approached the subject with a slower, more thoughtful pace that was well-reviewed, with Roger Ebert stating , “most of the action takes place during conversations.”

Shyamalan himself has attempted to capitalize on Unbreakable ’s success, with its follow-ups Split and Glass , but nothing in his filmography before or since has topped the original’s directorial effort, engrossing lead character, and hair-tingling finale.

His Entire Style, Encapsulated

Though it is one of his first major features, Unbreakable serves as an example of all of M. Night Shyamalan’s popular stylistic and structural trademarks. The filmmaker later admitted , "I was being very aggressive about the way we were making the movie". Even setting aside the requisite twist at the end of the film, Unbreakable is full of connective threads that link to Shyamalan’s past and future work, as well as to his own personal history.

M. Night Shyamalan’s filmography, while often fantastical, always plants itself firmly in a sense of “reality”. This approach towards realism is at its most prominent in Unbreakable, where realism is both the setting and the antagonist of the film. Whereas Shyamalan’s other films like The Visit lean into realism to heighten their thrills , Unbreakable weaponizes the mundane to heighten its storytelling impact. In The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan aims to depict ghosts realistically, with little translucence and full gore, but he also uses the viewpoint of his child-age lead to incorporate more nightmare-like, subjective visuals. Unbreakable fully grounds itself in a naturalistic, mundane world, matched by lower-key lighting and an unappetizing blue/green color palette. This visual aesthetic gives Shyamalan a contrasting appearance against the film’s superheroic feats.

Shyamalan almost always pops up as an actor in his own movies, and Unbreakable features his best cameo. Here, Shyamalan does not give himself too important of a role, like a writer who is supposed to save the world in Lady in the Water , but he does take advantage of the way he stands out as an actor. As Dunn is exploring his power of intuition while working security at a sports stadium, he clocks Shyamalan’s character as a drug dealer. When Dunn confronts the dealer, he realizes the dealer doesn’t have the package he saw in a brief vision, showing that Dunn’s intuition only sees crimes occurring in the future, not the past. It’s a vital piece of storytelling that uses Shylamalan’s presence as a fake-out, where his character is much less important than the information learned from him. In this way, it’s his most useful cameo, one that actually services the story.

Parenthood is present throughout all of Shyamalan’s films, even his first feature Praying with Anger . Just as in that film, where an estranged relationship between a father and son is shown to be one actually rooted in love, Unbreakable builds its most intense drama between David and his son, Joseph. David is unsure of himself, but Joseph believes in his dad’s superpowers, emboldened by a mysterious comic collector named Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson). David and Joseph personify either side of the movie’s central ideological conflict, while also highlighting Shyamalan’s knack for engaging parent/child relationships.

Related: The Best Performances in M. Night Shyamalan Films, Ranked

Shyamalan’s Best Character

David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis , is not a conventional hero. In his first scene, which takes place prior to the train crash, David flirts with another passenger, before it’s revealed that he’s married. His relationships with his wife (Robin Wright) and son (Spencer Treat Clark) are heavily strained, presumably due to his infidelity. He is still bitter over an injury that ended his football career decades earlier. He does not have a fortune, or noble journalistic intentions. And yet, he is the sole survivor of a deadly train crash. There is a visible struggle within Dunn as he grapples with the idea of having superpowers while simultaneously feeling unworthy of them.

Whereas The Sixth Sense connected viewers with its lead out of fear, Unbreakable has viewers empathize with David Dunn through a less visceral, but more rewarding emotion: doubt. David’s own doubt forces the viewer to doubt the validity of his powers as well. When David’s intuition works, the viewer believes it, and so does he. This creates a deeper sense of connection between the audience and the film’s lead, where even the reality of the situation is defined by the audience and character's shared acceptance of it. This type of character arc, and internalized doubt, also appears in Shyamalan films like Signs , with a disillusioned pastor as its lead. But David Dunn’s arc comes to the most satisfying conclusion, as he embraces his powers to rescue a family that’s been home-invaded, and tearfully shares his secret with Joseph.

Related: Bruce Willis and the Rise of CGI Movie Star Clones: Where Do We Draw the Line?

His Greatest Ending

A lot is made out of Shyalaman’s trademark twists in his movies, which can lead viewers to overlook the rest of the movie’s runtime. Unbreakable avoids this trap by ending the movie as soon as possible after its twist, leaving its maximum impact.

When David returns to the comic shop owned by Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr. Glass, he discovers that Glass caused the Eastrail 177 crash. Mr. Glass proclaims himself to be Dunn’s archenemy, and identifies himself as the villain of the story. But instead of a climactic super-powered showdown, Dunn walks away, and a title card states that Glass was arrested and institutionalized. It is a harsh final contrast between superhero stories and reality, a contrast the entire movie builds itself on. Avoiding a drawn-out finale with a mediocre punch-out is the best twist of all.

Unbreakable

If ever a filmmaker vaulted from unknown to lionized status on the basis of one film, it was M. Night Shyamalan with "The Sixth Sense," a little-anticipated ghost story that became one of the 10 highest grossers of all time. The question of whether this singular writer-director can deliver again will, by itself, guarantee a large turnout for "Unbreakable."

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

• Remember Me 15 years ago
• Shutter Island 15 years ago
• Green Zone 15 years ago

If ever a filmmaker vaulted from unknown to lionized status on the basis of one film, it was M. Night Shyamalan with “The Sixth Sense,” a little-anticipated ghost story that became one of the 10 highest grossers of all time. The question of whether this singular writer-director can deliver again will, by itself, guarantee a large turnout for “Unbreakable.” The answer is that he delivers much of the same: Same star, same preoccupation with telepathic and quasi-supernatural/religious powers, same hushed tone and deliberate pace, same sense of absolute control. But there are also serious differences: A weaker story, increased pretentiousness, some ill-advised narrative zigzags and a “surprise” ending that can’t begin to compare with the one in his previous picture. In addition to the draw repped by Shyamalan, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, yarn possesses sufficient intrigue to hook audiences and keep them on board much of the way, so despite the ultimate sense of letdown, B.O. prospects are very sturdy.

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Following a mysterious prologue revealing the birth in 1961 Philadelphia of a black boy who enters the world with broken arms and legs, second scene is so good that it raises what are gradually revealed to be unrealistic expectations. David Dun (Willis) is sitting by the window on a train shuttling to Philadelphia from New York, where he’s had a presumably unsuccessful job interview.

When an attractive young woman, Kelly (Leslie Stefanson), sits down next to him, he discreetly slips off his wedding ring and quietly chats her up, only to see her get up and move when he pushes too far. After putting his ring back on, he stares outside at the onrushing scenery until it becomes apparent that the train is moving too fast, at which point a cut to David’s son (Spencer Treat Clark) flipping TV channels reveals the news of a terrible derailment.

Brief scene obliquely provides all the exposition the viewer needs to know — the status of David’s marriage, his job uncertainty, his willingness to move to New York — while superbly building a quiet sense of unease. Much of it is shot with an agile hand-held camera positioned behind the seats in front of David and Kelly, the cuts are all significantly timed, and the mix of sounds — the subdued vocal tones, the ambient noise of the train, the sudden whoosh of an oncoming diesel — is wonderfully subtle.

Such a sequence establishes a sense of total confidence that one is in the hands of a master storyteller and creates an automatic viewer willingness to follow wherever he chooses to go.

Curiosity about where this is headed is further heightened when David turns out to be the sole survivor of the wreck, which killed 131 people; in fact, he escaped completely unscathed. Now a minor local celebrity, David agrees with his wife Audrey (Robin Wright Penn) to use his good fortune to give their dried-up relationship a new lease on life, but otherwise returns to his normal routine as a security guard at the university stadium where he was once a football star.

But a monkey wrench is introduced in the form of a note David finds on his car, reading, “How many days of your life have you been sick?” In fact, David has never taken a sick day and cannot remember ever having been ill, and his curiosity is piqued enough for him to track down the note’s sender, Elijah Price (Jackson), a stern, elegant, articulate man who walks tentatively with a cane and has transformed his childhood obsession with comics and superheroes into a profession as a gallery dealer selling original comicbook illustrations at extravagant prices.

Elijah, whose fragile condition was noted in the prologue, is preoccupied with strength and heroism due to his own lifelong debility, a rare disease that has caused him dozens of bone breaks and years of hospital time. David, he suspects, could be the man he’s long been searching for, someone at the opposite end of the spectrum from him, invulnerable, impervious to disease, an individual who “could protect us.”

David is balky and suspicious of such highfalutin conjecture, but Elijah keeps after him, pushing him to look deeper for the inner potential that David has always ignored. In an unlikely episode, Elijah falls while chasing a suspicious character fleeing the football stadium, breaking a bunch of bones in the process, and who should his rehab therapist turn out to be but Audrey, to whom he pours out his theories about the latent extraordinary possibilities within people.

David, Elijah rightly suspects, has a sixth sense, as it were, for sniffing out evil (properly exploited, this could make him a fortune in his chosen field of security); he shortly finds that he possesses the extraordinary intuitive power to enter a crowded room and detect who has committed acts ranging from the untoward to the despicable.

He also recalls distant memories of having walked away from a horrible auto accident in which he saved Audrey’s life, and of having almost drowned in a swimming pool, which gave him a lifelong fear of water that Elijah maintains is the Achilles’ heel that all superheroes have. “It’s your kryptonite,” he advises.

Some viewers will go along with all this, while others, like David himself, will resist. Because the mystery of where the story might be headed is sustained for so long, the film doesn’t go off the tracks all at once. But the superhero angle, which seems a bit odd when introduced, eventually feels all wrong, especially when invested with supernatural and spiritual dimensions that seem like holdovers from “The Sixth Sense.”

And while the earlier picture cast the sort of spell that would have been disrupted by any comic relief, the presence of pop culture refs via comics makes quite notable the absence of any humor or sense of fun, just as it makes its pretentions to deep meaning and self-importance all the more specious.

All the same, Shyamalan’s handling of individual sequences is often extremely impressive; he clearly knows exactly what he wants and how to achieve it. This time out, he receives a great assist from lenser Eduardo Serra, whose widescreen work within a subdued color scheme is enormously textured and arrestingly composed.

Also notable among the uniformly excellent craft contributions are Dylan Tichenor’s precision editing and James Newton Howard’s supple, supportive score.

In subdued, subtle form, Willis gently conveys the essence of a working-class man seemingly beaten down by life but mostly victimized by his own refusal to realize his true potential. Jackson lends his commanding presence and persuasive dialogue delivery to the odd role of Elijah, which never becomes fully dimensional enough despite its backstory of tragic vulnerability.

Wright Penn doesn’t do much with the flatly written wife part, and it’s during some of her domestic scenes with Willis a little more than an hour in that pic goes into lowest gear. As the couple’s son, Clark bears more than a passing resemblance to Haley Joel Osment, but the kid plays a decidedly peripheral role in this one.

• Production: A Buena Vista release of a Touchstone Pictures presentation of a Blinding Edge Pictures/Barry Mendel production. Produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Barry Mendel, Sam Mercer. Executive producers, Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum. Directed, written by M. Night Shyamalan.
• Crew: Camera (DuArt color, Technicolor prints; Panavision widescreen), Eduardo Serra; editor, Dylan Tichenor; music, James Newton Howard; production designer, Larry Fulton; art director, Steve Arnold; set decorator, Gretchen Rau; costume designer, Joanna Johnston; sound (SDDS/Dolby Digital/DTS), Allan Byer; sound designer/supervising sound editor, Richard King; visual effects, the Secret Lab; visual effects supervisor, Richard Hoover; assistant director, John Rusk; second unit director, Fulton; second unit camera, Steven Poster, Kyle Rudolph; casting, Douglas Aibel. Reviewed at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, Nov. 13, 2000. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 107 MIN.
• With: David Dunn - Bruce Willis Elijah Price - Samuel L. Jackson Audrey Dunn - Robin Wright Penn Elijah's Mother - Charlayne Woodard Joseph Dunn - Spencer Treat Clark Priest - James Handy Dr. Mathison - Eamonn Walker School Nurse - Elizabeth Lawrence Kelly - Leslie Stefanson

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Unbreakable

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All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders and/or producers/distributors.

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• #37 Best Superhero Movies
• "It's rare that a a movie leaves you pinned to your seat, wanting to see it again -- right now, this minute -- to work out the pieces of the puzzle. Unbreakable is one of those movies"  Peter Travers : Rolling Stone
• "The true subject of the film is well-guarded, although always in plain view (...) An uncommonly absorbing movie (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"  Roger Ebert : rogerebert.com
• "It would be foolish to deny that 'Unbreakable' has scenes that make you jump, but without anything resonant to apply that skill to, the film has no option except squandering its technique"  Kenneth Turan : Los Angeles Times
• "Unbreakable is a film that begins with a train wreck and then, figuratively speaking, becomes on" Jay Carr : Boston Globe
• "Possesses sufficient intrigue to hook audiences and keep them on board much of the way"  Todd McCarthy : Variety
• "An intriguing story executed with visual panache and fine acting performances" Kirk Honeycutt : The Hollywood Reporter
• "What 'Unbreakable' shows is Mr. Shyamalan's remarkable growth as a director. Some of the sequences are particularly fine, crisp and contained (...) Tidy and compact"  Elvis Mitchell : The New York Times
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Unbreakable Reviews

Comic-book fan or not, Unbreakable is the closest to what reality would be if superheroes really existed.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Jul 24, 2023

...Even though Unbreakable's superhero side is shaky, Shyamalan's fourth film is ultimately a success—as best seen in the strength of the Dunn family story and a genuinely exciting climactic fight.

Full Review | Feb 14, 2023

Ahead of its time, Unbreakable remains one of the best superhero films of all time. A masterful deconstruction and exploration of the popular comic book genre. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 22, 2021

A somber and seemingly prophetically introspective take on a superhero genre that had not yet caught fire...

Full Review | Apr 14, 2021

The pacing is problematic, since a dramatic, low-key take on superheroes is a difficult sell - both to comic book fans and to audiences looking for greater levels of action.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Nov 9, 2020

Spencer Clark is wonderful.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 26, 2020

This strange, quiet film about fear, fragility, dignity, and power is an anti-superhero movie made on the cusp of the superhero apocalypse.

Full Review | Sep 16, 2020

A work that moves between the masterful and the sublime throughout a footage that accumulates moment after moment of pure inventive genius. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Apr 17, 2020

Small and subdued, yet at the same time epic in scale. Shyamalan tells the story of superheroes, but in a contained and human fashion.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | May 7, 2019

I was never really bored and it's a pretty creative twist on the comic book genre. Unfortunately I appreciate it more for the potential than the end result.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Apr 4, 2019

"Unbreakable" is likely to stand the test of time as long as stories about superheroes - or heroes in general - are still sought by scared, suffering human beings.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 23, 2019

(It won't) appeal to all... (but) for those interested in understanding the psychology of what makes heroes and villains tick, there are few films I could recommend higher.

Full Review | Original Score: 9.5/10 | Jan 16, 2019

By watching this masterpiece, you'll realize that not all movies of this genre need to be driven mostly by action spectacle and one-liners.

Full Review | Jan 2, 2019

This compelling conundrum of a film marks the maturity of Sixth Sense director M Night Shyamalan as a distinctive, even remarkable filmmaker.

I think Unbreakable might just be his [M. Knight Shyamalan's] masterpiece -- a movie that was truly ahead of its time.

Full Review | Jan 19, 2018

Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's penchant for a deliberate narrative is certainly in full effect with Unbreakable...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 23, 2017

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Feb 9, 2013

Interesting premise, but ultimately disappointing.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 29, 2010

Sequel talk often sparks because this unconventionally contemplative comic-book film is M. Night Shyamalan's only idea worth continuing -a patient, downbeat and thrillingly unpredictable drama that still stands today as Shyamalan's visionary masterpiece.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Nov 10, 2010

A superhero origin story for an audience that appreciates human stories...

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 29, 2009

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Where to watch

Unbreakable.

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Are you ready for the truth?

An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass.

Bruce Willis Samuel L. Jackson Robin Wright Spencer Treat Clark Charlayne Woodard Eamonn Walker Leslie Stefanson Johnny Hiram Jamison Michaelia Carroll Bostin Christopher Elizabeth Lawrence Davis Duffield Laura Regan Chance Kelly Michael Kelly Firdous Bamji Johanna Day James Handy Sally Parrish Richard Council Damian Young Sherman Roberts Whitney Sugarman Dianne Cotten Murphy M. Night Shyamalan Sasha Joseph Neulinger Jose L. Rodriguez Samantha Savino Ukee Washington Show All… Susan Wilder Greg Horos Todd Berry Angela Eckert Anthony Lawton Julia Yorks John Patrick Amedori John Rusk Joey Hazinsky Bill Rowe Marc H. Glick Kim Simms Thomas Joey Perillo

Director Director

M. Night Shyamalan

Producers Producers

Barry Mendel M. Night Shyamalan Sam Mercer

Writer Writer

Casting casting.

Cindy Tolan Douglas Aibel

Editor Editor

Dylan Tichenor

Cinematography Cinematography

Eduardo Serra

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Scott Robertson John Rusk

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Larry Fulton

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Roger Birnbaum Gary Barber

Lighting Lighting

Steven Litecky

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Gordon Hayman Kyle Rudolph

Production Design Production Design

Art direction art direction.

Steve Arnold James C. Feng Marion Kolsby Scott P. Murphy

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Gretchen Rau Michael T. Galvin Morgan Miller

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Diane Fazio Richard R. Hoover Mike Meaker

Stunts Stunts

Jim Stephan Gregg Smrz Jon W. Kishi James C. Lewis Brian Smrz Patricia Moyer Shirley Smrz David Rowden Diane Reneé Carol Neilson Kiante Elam Deborah Habberstad Dean Raphael Ferrandini Dane Farwell Terry Jackson Don Picard Phoenix Nugent Chandra De Alessandro Jeff Habberstad

Composer Composer

James Newton Howard

Sound Sound

Terry O'Bright Matthew Dettmann Lee Dichter Michael Semanick Allan Byer Gary A. Hecker Christopher Flick Richard King Patricio A. Libenson Randle Akerson

Costume Design Costume Design

Joanna Johnston

Makeup Makeup

Howard Berger Greg Nicotero Allan A. Apone Bernadette Mazur

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Robert L. Stevenson Francesca Paris

Barry Mendel Productions Blinding Edge Pictures Touchstone Pictures

Releases by Date

14 nov 2000, 22 nov 2000, 30 nov 2000, 07 dec 2000, 08 dec 2000, 09 dec 2000, 14 dec 2000, 15 dec 2000, 21 dec 2000, 22 dec 2000, 26 dec 2000, 27 dec 2000, 28 dec 2000, 29 dec 2000, 01 jan 2001, 04 jan 2001, 05 jan 2001, 06 jan 2001, 11 jan 2001, 12 jan 2001, 18 jan 2001, 19 jan 2001, 25 jan 2001, 26 jan 2001, 05 feb 2001, 09 feb 2001, 10 feb 2001, 16 feb 2001, 21 feb 2001, 02 mar 2001, 08 mar 2001, 23 mar 2001, 30 mar 2001, 04 apr 2001, 18 apr 2011, 20 aug 2001, 02 oct 2001, releases by country.

• Theatrical 13
• Theatrical M
• Theatrical 14

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

• Theatrical 12
• Theatrical C
• Theatrical PG
• Theatrical U
• Physical DVD
• Theatrical 11
• Theatrical K-12
• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical IIB
• Physical 16 DVD
• Theatrical UA
• Theatrical 17+
• Theatrical T
• Theatrical G
• Theatrical N-13
• Theatrical B

Netherlands

New zealand.

• Theatrical 15
• Theatrical M/12
• Theatrical 12+

South Korea

Switzerland.

• Theatrical 13+
• Premiere PG-13 New York City, New York
• Theatrical PG-13

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Popular reviews

Review by Matt Singer ★★★★ 7

So thematically on point most of the shots of Bruce Willis are long unbroken takes.

Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★ 10

Watching this for the umpteenth viewing, I couldn't help but focus on how every scene, set-up, narrative development, choice of color and mood and music, feels fresh. Even the most rudimentary moments are captured by M. Night Shyamalan's determination of form. Just take a look at the opening, with the birth of Mr. Glass, as Shyamalan captures the disorientation and confusion with the help of two mirrors and a floaty handheld long-take. Following that, the camera moving back and forth between the space of two seats on the train, or the durational tension of David Dunn waking up after the accident, with a fellow passenger slowly dying in the foreground. And that's just the beginning. By the time we…

Review by lauren ★★★ 17

unbreakable! he’s alive, damn it it’s a miracle! unbreakable! he’s alive, damn it but bruce willis is strong as hell!

Review by ˗ˏˋ suspirliam ˊˎ˗ ★★★½

"not all heroes wear capes" you're right, fashion legend david dunn wears a Poncho™️

Review by Taylor Williams ★★★★★ 5

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I love how uninterested this film is in keeping its symbolism subliminal. Shoot Glass through glass in every scene, give the everyday superhero an everyday uniform with a big SECURITY logo on the back, make it a poncho to block water after establishing his weakness as water, compose your shot like a comic panel and deliver a line like “life doesn’t have to fit into little boxes that were drawn for it” before moving the camera in a way that becomes a fundamentally cinematic language. 

“ This one has a surprise ending! ”

“ The thing to notice about this piece, the thing that makes it very, very special, is its realistic depiction of its figures. ”

What else is there to say? Such raw pining for fulfillment here from everyone, sold on every conceivable level.

Review by liam f ★★★½ 6

if Bruce Willis is unbreakable in this film, would it mean that if he were to die, he would, in fact, die hard?

Review by Sydney🚀 ★★★★½ 12

A movie about a kid believing in his dad :)

Review by owen ★★★★ 3

that kid was like "i won't hesitate BITCH"

Review by Leticia Fernandes ★★★½ 7

Me: trying to pay attention to the movie My goddman brain: I was born with glass bones and paper skin. Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon I break my arms. At night, I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep.

Review by justinC ★★★★★ 15

This is my first time seeing M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable and I can safely say it is leaps and bounds far better than I ever imagined. Shyamalan didn't need to blow things up, have suits that make a man fly, to make an absolute great "superhero" film. No he used the power of his storytelling to do the work. The two leads of Bruce Willis who plays David Dunn is a man whose been in some catastrophic accidents only to survive every time.and Samuel l. Jackson as Elijah Price plays a man that since childhood has had a rare bone disease, a avid comic book enthusiast he figures out and tries to make Dunn aware of his powers. Dunn fights…

Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★★

The stories we tell ourselves so that reality might make sense.

Full discussion on ep 182 of my podcast SLEAZOIDS .

Review by Sethsreviews ★★★★★ 10

Drenched in the most unique and moody atmosphere. Honestly, this is still one of M. Night's most distinctive works visually, with each frame deserving of conversation. And similar to every single of his films, my thoughts on this improve substantially on every watch. A ‘superhero’ film saturated in uncertainty and realism, but one that highlights that everyone possesses incredible abilities, and it is up to you to discover them. It's as dark and mysterious as it is up-lifting. M. Night takes a story that could easily be pulled by a myriad of cliches but turns it on its head and instead emphasises how meaningless existence can feel without purpose, using a man with many issues and in a state of…

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• Unbreakable (film)

Unbreakable (film) explained

Unbreakable is a 2000 American superhero thriller film written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan , and starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson , and Robin Wright . It is the first installment in the Unbreakable film series . In Unbreakable , David Dunn (Willis) survives a train crash with no injuries, leading to the realization that he harbors superhuman abilities. As he begins to grapple with this discovery, he comes to the attention of disabled comic book store owner Elijah Price (Jackson), who manipulates David to understand him.

Shyamalan organized the narrative of Unbreakable to parallel a comic book's traditional three-part story structure . After settling on the origin story , Shyamalan wrote the screenplay as a speculative screenplay with Willis already set to star in the film and Jackson in mind to portray Elijah Price. Filming began in April 2000 and was completed in July.

Unbreakable was released on November 22, 2000. It received generally positive reviews, with praise for Shyamalan's direction, screenplay, its aesthetics, the performances, the emotional weight of the story, cinematography, and the score by James Newton Howard . The film has subsequently gained a strong cult following . [2] A realistic vision of the superhero genre, it is regarded by many as one of Shyamalan's best films and one of the best superhero film s. In 2011, Time listed it as one of the top ten superhero films of all time, ranking it number four. [3] Quentin Tarantino also included it on his list of the top 20 films released from 1992 to 2009.

After years of development on a follow-up film, a thematic sequel, Split , with Willis reprising his role as David Dunn in a cameo role, was released in January 2017. After the financial and critical success of Split , Shyamalan immediately began working on a third film, titled Glass , which was released January 18, 2019, [4] thus making Unbreakable the first installment in the Unbreakable film series. [5] [6] [7]

In 1961 Philadelphia, baby Elijah Price is born with Type I osteogenesis imperfecta , a rare disease that renders his bones extremely fragile and prone to fracture.

In the film's present, former star quarterback and security guard David Dunn is returning home to Philadelphia after a job interview in New York when his train, Eastrail 177, suddenly speeds up. He wakes up in a hospital room, unscathed, and the doctors inform him he is the sole survivor of the derailment that killed all other 131 passengers. After attending a memorial service for the victims, David finds a note on his car asking how long it's been since he has been ill and inviting him to "Limited Edition", an art gallery operated by Elijah Price. He goes with his son Joseph to meet Elijah. Elijah explains his theory of real-life superheroes, and if he represents extreme frailty, that there must be someone "unbreakable" at the opposite extreme. David is unsettled and leaves but later finds he can bench press 350lb, well above his expectations. Joseph idolizes his father, believing him to be a superhero, although David maintains that he is an ordinary man.

David challenges Elijah's theory with an incident from his childhood when he almost drowned and contracted pneumonia . Elijah suggests that highlights the common convention whereby superheroes have a weakness, contending that David's is water. David recalls the car accident in which he had been unharmed and ripped off the car door with his bare hands to rescue his girlfriend, Audrey. He feigned injury from the crash to quit football because Audrey disliked the violence of the sport.

Under Elijah's influence, David realizes that his intuition for picking out dangerous people in his work as a security guard is actually extrasensory perception . Consciously honing this ability, David discovers that touch contact with people brings him visions of criminal acts they have committed. As people bump into him in a crowd, he senses the crimes they have perpetrated such as theft, assault, and rape. He finds one he can act on: a sadistic janitor who has invaded a family home, killed the father, and is now holding the mother and two children captive. David follows the janitor to the victims' house and frees the children. The janitor pushes him into a swimming pool from the balcony where he nearly drowns as he cannot swim, but is rescued by the children. David strangles the janitor to death, but finds the janitor has killed the mother. The next morning, David shows Joseph a newspaper article featuring a sketch of the anonymous hero, whom Joseph recognizes as his father and tearfully promises to keep his secret.

David meets Elijah's elderly mother, who explains the difference between villains who fight heroes with physical strength and those who use their intelligence. Elijah asks David to shake his hand, which reveals that Elijah was responsible for numerous high-profile "accidents," including David's train crash, to find his superhero rival. Elijah tells David, "Now that we know who you are, I know who I am". He adopts his childhood nickname, "Mr. Glass," as his supervillain moniker. David reports Elijah's crimes to the police, and Elijah is confined to a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane.

• Davis Duffield as 20-year-old David
• Johnny Hiram Jamison as 13-year-old Elijah
• Laura Regan as 20-year-old Audrey
• Spencer Treat Clark as Joseph Dunn, David's son who believes his father is a superhero Charlayne Woodard as Mrs. Price, Elijah's mother
• Eamonn Walker as Dr. Mathison
• Leslie Stefanson as Kelly
• Bostin Christopher as Comic Book Clerk
• Elizabeth Lawrence as School Nurse
• James Handy as Priest
• Chance Kelly as Orange Suit Man
• Michael Kelly as Dr. Dubin
• Joey Hazinsky as Five-Year-Old Boy/ Kevin Wendell Crumb
• Dianne Cotten Murphy as Woman Walking By/Penelope Crumb

Writer, director, and producer M. Night Shyamalan makes an appearance as Stadium Drug Dealer. He reprises this role in the 2016 and 2019 films Split , and Glass , which both credit him as surveillance security guard Jai who in Glass jokingly says he used to do shady stuff in the stadium back in his youth.

In October 2018, Shyamalan confirmed a fan theory that "Five-Year-Old Boy" and "Woman Walking By", who bump into David Dunn outside a stadium, are younger versions of Kevin Wendell Crumb and Penelope Crumb from Split , confirmed in the 2019 film Glass . [8]

When M. Night Shyamalan conceived the idea for Unbreakable , the outline had a comic book's traditional three-part structure (the superhero's "birth", his struggles against general evil-doers, and the hero's ultimate battle against the " archenemy "). Finding the birth section most interesting, he decided to write Unbreakable as an origin story . During the filming of The Sixth Sense , Shyamalan had already approached Bruce Willis for the lead role of David Dunn. [9] With Willis and Samuel L. Jackson specifically in mind for the two leading characters, Shyamalan began to write Unbreakable as a spec script [10] during post-production on The Sixth Sense . [11] Jackson recalled meeting Willis in a casino in Casablanca while he was on vacation prior to Unbreakable s production; Willis told Jackson that he had just finished filming for Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense and told Jackson about the new script that was written for both of them. [12]

With the financial and critical success of The Sixth Sense in August 1999, Shyamalan gave Walt Disney Studios a first-look deal for Unbreakable . In return, Disney purchased Shyamalan's screenplay at a "spec script record" for $5 million. He was also given another $5 million to direct. Disney decided to release Unbreakable under their Touchstone Pictures banner. It also helped Shyamalan establish his own production company , Blinding Edge Pictures . [13] Julianne Moore was cast as Audrey, David's wife, in January 2000, [14] but dropped out in March 2000, to take on the role of Clarice Starling in Hannibal . Robin Wright was cast in her place. [15] Principal photography began on April 25, 2000, and ended that July. The majority of filming took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the film's setting. [16]

Shyamalan and cinematographer Eduardo Serra chose several camera angles to simulate the look of a comic book panel . Various visual narrative motif s were also applied. Several scenes relating to the Mr. Glass character involve glass. As a newborn, he is primarily seen reflected in mirrors, and as a young child, he is seen reflected in a blank TV screen. When he leaves his calling card on the windshield of David Dunn's car, he is reflected in a glass frame in his art gallery. Jackson requested his walking stick be made of glass to make his character more menacing. Using purple as Mr. Glass's color to David Dunn's green was also Jackson's idea. [17] Mr. Glass's wig was modeled after Afro-American statesman Frederick Douglass. [9] As he does in his other films, Shyamalan makes a cameo appearance ; he plays a man David suspects of dealing drugs inside the stadium.

Shyamalan said that he wanted to market Unbreakable as a comic book movie, but Disney—which had not yet bought Marvel Comics —preferred to advertise it as a supernatural thriller like The Sixth Sense . [18] More than 15 minutes of footage was deleted during post-production of Unbreakable . These scenes are available on the DVD release. [19]

James Newton Howard was approached by Shyamalan to work on Unbreakable immediately after scoring The Sixth Sense . "He sat there and storyboard ed the whole movie for me", Howard said. "I've never had a director do that for me." Shyamalan wanted a "singularity" tone for the music. "He wanted something that was very different, very distinctive, that immediately evoked the movie when people heard it," Howard explained. Howard and Shyamalan chose to simplify the score, and minimized the number of instruments (strings, trumpets and piano), with limited orchestrations. It was recorded at AIR Studios Lyndhurst Hall, a converted church in London. "You could have recorded the same music in a studio in Los Angeles, and it would have been great, but there is something about the sound of that church studio," Howard remarked. "It's definitely more misterioso ." [20]

Comic book references

As in comic books, the main characters have their identified color schemes and aliases. David's are green and "Security" or "Hero", while Elijah's are purple and "Mr. Glass". The colors show up in their clothes, the wallpaper and bed sheets in their houses, Elijah's note to David, and various personal items. [9] The people whose bad deeds are sensed by David are identified by an article of clothing in a single bright color (red, orange), to contrast them with the dark and dreary color scheme typical of the rest of the movie (but not of most comic books). Several scenes also depict characters through reflections or doorways, as if framing them in a picture similar to comic books. [9]

Unbreakable was released in the United States on November 22, 2000, in 2,708 theaters and grossed $30.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind How the Grinch Stole Christmas . The film ended up earning $95 million domestically and $153.1 million internationally for a total of $248.1 million, against its $75 million production budget.

Critical response

Unbreakable received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus states, "With a weaker ending, Unbreakable is not as good as The Sixth Sense . However, it is a quietly suspenseful film that intrigues and engages, taking the audience through unpredictable twists and turns along the way." [22] On Metacritic the film has a score of 62 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [23] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale. [24]

Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times, gave Unbreakable 3 out of 4 stars and had largely enjoyed the film, but was disappointed with the ending. Ebert believed that Willis's "subtle acting" was positively different from the actor's usual work in "brainless action movies". [25] Richard Corliss of Time opined that Unbreakable continued Shyamalan's previous approach of "balancing sophistication and horror in all of his movies". [26] Desson Thomson from The Washington Post wrote that "just as he did in The Sixth Sense , writer-director M. Night Shyamalan leads you into a fascinating labyrinth , an alternative universe that lurks right under our noses. In this case, it's the mythological world and, in these modern times, the secret design to that labyrinth, the key to the path, is contained in comic books." [27]

Kenneth Turan , writing for the Los Angeles Times , gave a negative review, arguing that Unbreakable had no originality. "Whether it means to or not, the shadow of The Sixth Sense hangs over Unbreakable ," Turan reasoned. "If The Sixth Sense hadn't been as big a success as it was, this story might have been assigned to oblivion, or at least to rewrite." [28] Todd McCarthy of Variety mostly criticized Shyamalan's writing and the performances given by the actors. He did praise Dylan Tichenor 's editing and James Newton Howard 's music composition. [29]

In 2002 Audrey Colombe described the movie's plot as an example of what " Toni Morrison calls a 'dehistoricizing allegory,'" with the Elijah Price character as yet another example of "White Hollywood"'s " magical African American male character " helping the white hero do the right thing, though Elijah is described as a rare exception to the rule that this character is "never 'bad'". [30]

Shyamalan admitted he was disappointed by the reaction Unbreakable received from the public and critics. [31] Shyamalan also disliked Touchstone Pictures ' marketing campaign. He wanted to promote Unbreakable as a comic book movie, but Touchstone insisted on portraying it as a psychological thriller , similar to The Sixth Sense . [32]

Later reviews

In 2009, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino praised Unbreakable , and included it on his list of the top 20 films released since 1992, the year he became a director. Tarantino praised the film as a "brilliant retelling of the Superman mythology", and said it contains what he considers to be Bruce Willis' best performance. He also criticized the way the film was marketed upon release, stating he felt that it would have been far more effective if the film's advertising simply posed the question of "what if Superman was here on earth, and didn't know he was Superman?" [33]

In 2011, Time ranked the film at No. 4 in its list of top ten superhero movies of all time, describing it as one of the best superhero origin stories and as a "relatively quiet, subtle and realistic look at the pressures that come with being a superhero." [3] In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter called it a "deconstruction of the American superhero/villain complex" that is "more prescient than ever." [34]

The film released on DVD and VHS in 2001. The DVD sold 2.3 million units in the United States, and was the top DVD video rental of 2001. It grossed a total of from DVD sales and DVD/VHS rentals in the United States. The film thus had a combined global box office and U.S. home video revenue of $371,028,653, with a 495% return on investment .

In 2008, the movie was released on Blu-ray which had all the bonus features of the Special Edition on DVD "Vista Series". [35] [36]

In the United Kingdom, the film was watched by viewers on television in 2004, making it the year's third most-watched film on television. [37]

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film on Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 21, 2021.

See also: Unbreakable (film series) . After the film's release, rumors of possible sequels began circulating in different interviews and in film fansite s. In 2000, Bruce Willis was quoted as hoping for an Unbreakable trilogy. [43] In December 2000, Shyamalan denied rumors he wrote Unbreakable as the first installment of a trilogy, saying he was not even thinking about it. [43] In August 2001, Shyamalan stated that, because of successful DVD sales, he had approached Touchstone Pictures about an Unbreakable sequel, an idea Shyamalan said the studio originally turned down because of the film's disappointing box office performance. [44] In a September 2008 article, Shyamalan and Samuel L. Jackson said there was some discussion of a sequel when the film was being made, but that it mostly died with the disappointing box office. Jackson said he was still interested in a sequel but Shyamalan was non-committal. [45] In February 2010, Willis said that Shyamalan was "still thinking about doing the fight movie between me and Sam that we were going to do", and stated that as long as Jackson was able to participate he would be "up for it". [46]

See main article: Split (2016 American film) .

In September 2010, Shyamalan revealed that an additional villain had been omitted from Unbreakable in anticipation of their inclusion in a sequel, but that the character had instead been used for a forthcoming film he was writing for and producing.

Shyamalan's horror thriller film Split has been described as a thematic sequel to Unbreakable , [47] and was released on January 20, 2017. Although it was filmed substantially as a standalone film, an uncredited cameo by Bruce Willis as David Dunn indeed establishes Split as a story within the same world.

Additionally, Shyamalan has stated the orange-suited villain portrayed by Chance Kelly in Unbreakable was initially going to be the character "The Horde". [48] However, features of The Horde were dropped to make the character simpler in order to keep the focus on David. The original character, Kevin Wendell Crumb, would later be fully realized in Split . [49] [50]

See main article: Glass (2019 film) .

Shyamalan expressed hope for a third installment following Split , saying, "I hope [a third ''Unbreakable'' film happens]. The answer is yes. I'm just such a wimp sometimes. I don't know what's going to happen when I go off in my room, a week after this film opens, to write the script. But I'm going to start writing. [I have] a really robust outline, which is pretty intricate. But now the standards for my outlines are higher. I need to know I've won already. I'm almost there but I'm not quite there." [51] In April 2017, Shyamalan announced the official title, release date, and returning actors for the third movie. The film, titled Glass , was released on January 18, 2019, and features Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson , Anya Taylor-Joy , and James McAvoy returning to their respective roles in the series. [4]

• List of films featuring home invasions
• List of sole survivors of aviation accidents and incidents

Notes and References

• Web site: Unbreakable . . December 18, 2008.
• Unbreakable – An Oral History . . July 10, 2015 . October 14, 2015.
• Cruz. Gilbert. Top 10 Superhero Movies: 4. Unbreakable (2000) . Time . August 17, 2011. June 3, 2011.
• Web site: The Unbreakable And Split Crossover Movie Reveals Official Title And Four Stars . April 26, 2017. CINEMABLEND. April 28, 2019.
• Web site: Cox. James. Details emerge about the sequel to Split, 'Glass' . Buzz.ie. April 27, 2018. August 8, 2018. April 18, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418191042/https://www.buzz.ie/movies-tv/details-emerge-about-the-sequel-to-split-glass-283022. dead.
• Web site: Samuel L. Jackson Has Finished the 'Split' Sequel, But It's Not Over Yet . Busch. Caitlin. Inverse.com. November 20, 2017.
• Web site: Toni Collette wont be popping up in M Night Shyalamans Glass Movie Exclusive . Yahoo Movies UK. Hanna. Flint. June 12, 2018.
• Total Film — November 2018 — "Rule of Crumb" — JF
• [M. Night Shyamalan]
• Christopher John Farley . A New Day Dawns For Night . https://web.archive.org/web/20101122101929/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998594,00.html . dead . November 22, 2010 . November 27, 2000 . . December 19, 2008.
• Movie Preview: Nov. 22 . . August 11, 2000 . December 19, 2008 . October 14, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081014031557/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,87399,00.html . live .
• Web site: Glass Cast Tells Conan How An Unlikely Superhero Trilogy Came To Be . Nichalos . Stayton . July 23, 2018 . July 23, 2018 . . July 23, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180723032959/http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/glass-cast-tells-conan-how-an-unlikely-superhero-trilogy-came-to-be . dead .
• News: Angelina . Chen . Michael . Fleming . Deal makes 'Sense' . . December 15, 1999 . December 19, 2008 .
• News: Moore signs up with Sixth Sense director . . January 14, 2000 . September 24, 2021.
• News: Inside Moves . . March 2, 2000 . December 19, 2008.
• News: Charles Lyons . Moore gets 'Break' . . January 14, 2000 . December 19, 2008.
• Unrelated to this film, Jackson asked George Lucas for a purple lightsaber in . "Samuel L. Jackson". Inside the Actors Studio . Bravo . June 2, 2002.
• Hiatt . Brian . 2018-12-20 . The Fall and Rise of M. Night Shyamalan . Rolling Stone.
• Deleted Scenes With M. Night Shyamalan , 2001, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• News: Rick . Lyman . At The Movies: A Full Plate For the Holidays . . November 24, 2000 .
• Scott Brown . Comic Belief . . December 6, 2000 . December 19, 2008 . April 27, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090427201626/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,90839,00.html . dead .
• Web site: Unbreakable (2000) . Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . .
• Web site: Unbreakable Reviews . . July 17, 2020 .
• Web site: Unbreakable . . July 17, 2018.
• News: November 22, 2000 . Roger Ebert . Roger Ebert . Unbreakable . . January 1, 2022 .
• Richard Corliss . Scary And Smart . https://web.archive.org/web/20080408155013/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994783,00.html . live . April 8, 2008 . . August 2, 2004 . December 1, 2020 . Richard Corliss .
• News: Desson Thomson . 'Unbreakable': Unrelentingly Gripping . . November 24, 2000 . December 20, 2008 . Desson Thomson.
• News: Kenneth Turan . An 'Unbreakable' Sense of Déjà Vu . . November 21, 2000 . December 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080622010752/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie001121-3%2C0%2C4110177.story . June 22, 2008 . Kenneth Turan . dead .
• News: Todd McCarthy . Unbreakable . . November 20, 2000 . March 2, 2022 . March 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220321020426/https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/unbreakable-1200465268/ . dead .
• White Hollywood's new Black boogeyman . Audrey . Colombe . 45 . Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media . October 2002 . Unbreakable's plot is what Toni Morrison calls a "dehistoricizing allegory," story telling that leaves difficult and inconvenient history aside ... What's remarkable about the recent magical figure ... Unbreakable presents Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson), a disturbed and fragile man who is compelled to help David (Bruce Willis), the "unbreakable" White man, realize his ability to conquer evil with good. ... The Black male figure is never "bad" in the final evaluation; the exception here is Elijah Price in Unbreakable who is, bizarrely enough, trying to convince the main White character to help curb his (Price's) own evil actions. . December 3, 2006 .
• Daniel Fierman . Night of the Living Dread . . August 2, 2002 . December 19, 2008 . May 16, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070516184431/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,333419,00.html . dead .
• News: Shyamalan's Hollywood Horror Story . The New York Times . January 23, 2009 . Weiner . Allison Hope . June 2, 2008.
• Web site: Tarantino's Top 20 Movies Since 1992 . August 17, 2009. Spike (TV channel) . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090820231204/http://www.spike.com/video/tarantinos-top-20/3228451. August 20, 2009.
• News: 'Glass' Looks Like M. Night Shyamalan's Most Complex Film Yet . . July 21, 2018.
• Web site: McCutcheon. David. Disney's Happy Blu Year . IGN. May 15, 2023. March 25, 2008.
• Web site: Unbreakable (2000) . JP's Box Office . November 24, 2018.
• News: UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook: Annual Review 2004/05 . 73 . . 21 April 2022 . British Film Institute .
• Web site: Sci-fi Noms . . February 1, 2002. November 6, 2017 .
• Web site: Unbreakable . .
• Web site: GTA2 NOMINEES (2001) . . n.d. . November 6, 2017 . November 7, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022059/http://www.goldentrailer.com/gta2-nominees/ . dead .
• Web site: Nebula Awards Nominees and Winners: Best Script . . n.d.. November 6, 2017 .
• Web site: IHG Award Recipients . . n.d.. November 6, 2017 .
• News: Brian Linder . Willis' Unbreakable Trilogy Hopes Shattered . . December 5, 2000 . December 20, 2008.
• News: Olly Richards . An Unbreakable Sequel? . . August 1, 2001 . December 20, 2008 . March 23, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120323151651/http://www.empireonline.com/News/story.asp?nid=13123 . dead .
• News: Casey Seijas . Samuel L. Jackson, M. Night Shyamalan On The 'Unbreakable' Sequel That Never Was, But Might Be . . September 18, 2008 . December 20, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090115075126/http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/09/18/samuel-l-jackson-m-night-shyamalan-on-the-unbreakable-sequel-that-never-was-but-might-be/ . January 15, 2009 .
• Web site: Bruce Willis Says M. Night Shyamalan 'Still Thinking' About 'Unbreakable 2' . Rick . Marshall . . February 22, 2010 . June 12, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100425235248/http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/02/22/bruce-willis-says-m-night-shyamalan-still-thinking-about-unbreakable-2/ . April 25, 2010 . Web site: 'Unbreakable 2' on the Horizon? . Bill . Gibron . . February 24, 2010 . June 12, 2010 .
• Web site: 'Split' Review: M. Night Shyamalan's Best Film in Years Is a Surprisingly Poignant Thriller . Britt Hayes . September 26, 2016 . October 27, 2016.
• Web site: M. Night Shyamalan Talks Split, Casting James McAvoy... And That Twist . Empire . January 24, 2017 .
• Web site: How M. Night Shyamalan's 'Glass' Takes The Right Lessons From 'The Avengers' . Scott . Mendelson . Scott Mendelson . Forbes .
• Web site: 'Split': M. Night Shyamalan Explains an Ending Years in the Making . Aaron . Couch . January 22, 2017 . January 22, 2017 . .
• Split spoiler: M. Night Shyamalan breaks down film's shock ending . Joe McGovern . . January 20, 2017 . January 20, 2020 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License . It uses material from the Wikipedia article " Unbreakable (film) ".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy .

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

It’s 1997. I’m eleven years old at a sleepover where I tell all the girls my favorite actor is Nicolas Cage and I can’t wait to see “ Con Air .” My three favorite movies are “ Moonstruck ,” “ Raising Arizona ,” and “ Honeymoon in Vegas .” A year earlier, my parents took me to see “ The Rock ” and “ Face/Off ” in theaters despite their R ratings. To be a Nicolas Cage fan of a certain age is to have extremely personal memories like this that crossover into your own autobiographical story. 

That’s precisely what “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” director Tom Gormican and his co-writer Kevin Etten understand about the connections fans have with Cage. From this emotional symbiosis between fan and actor, the filmmakers craft a metanarrative that also explores the relationship between the actor and his on screen persona through the lens of the ever shifting goals of contemporary Hollywood filmmaking.

When the film began with a scene featuring a teenage girl referring to Cage as a “fucking legend” while watching the 1997 action film “Con Air” that culminates in her kidnapping as Trisha Yearwood’s “How Do I Live” crescendos, I knew I was in good hands. Cut to Cage playing a fictionalized version of himself called Nick Cage cruising down Sunset Blvd blaring CCR on his way to a meeting with a director (played by “ Joe ” director David Gordon Green ) at the Chateau Marmont. 

Neurotic Cage collides head on with Hollywood clichés as he grasps for the “role of a lifetime” while his personal life is in shambles. Divorced from his make-up artist wife Olivia (the always stellar Sharon Horgan ), failing to connect with his 16-year-old daughter Addy (Lily Sheen, daughter of actors Michael Sheen and Kate Beckinsale ), and owing $600k to the hotel where he’s currently living, Cage takes up an offer from his agent Fink ( Neil Patrick Harris ) to appear at super fan’s birthday in Mallorca for a cool million. 

The affable Pedro Pascal plays up his own ultra-likeable persona as billionaire super fan Javi Gutierrez, olive-exporting magnate who may also be an international gun runner. Pascal is all of us as his grin never seems to fade around Cage, he’s just that happy to be around the man behind the myth. What could easily be a fan service cipher in lesser hands is buoyed by Pascal’s layered, emotional performance. A scene where Pascal shares a personal story about how bonding over the 1994’s Shirley MacLaine comedy “ Guarding Tess ” helped him patch things up with his dying father is hilarious, but also taps into a great truth about the power of film—any film—to transform lives. 

Even the CIA agents tasked with taking down Javi’s criminal empire, played with perfectly balanced comic seriousness by Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz , have differing points of reference when they spot Cage at the airport and decide to turn him into an asset. The breadth of titles in Cage’s filmography means he’s both the guy from “Moonstruck” and “Face/Off,” but also gives Haddish’s agent an opportunity to distract him long enough to place a tracker on him while explaining how much her nephew loves “The Croods 2.” Truly an actor with something for everyone.  

Sticking Cage in a plotline straight out of one his action films like “ Gone In 60 Seconds ” or “ National Treasure ” could easily begin to feel like a gimmick, but the filmmakers pull from every corner of his filmography to craft something transcendent. A poolside breakdown harkens back to Cage’s Oscar-winning performance in “ Leaving Las Vegas .” His chemistry with Pascal as the two begin working on a screenplay together keeps the film grounded in character over plot, real emotions over artifice. 

In a surreal twist, Cage further flexes his acting chops a la “ Adaptation ” playing the dual role of Nicky (where he’s credited by his real name: Nicolas Kim Coppola), a grotesque ghost of his past self, styled like the outre characters he played in “Wild At Heart” and “Vampire’s Kiss.” Nicky is always there reminding him he is a movie STAR, not just an actor working on his craft or a father patching up a rough relationship with his daughter. Always these multiple aspects of himself wrestle inside Nick, stunting his ability to grow into the man he needs to be for his family right now.

These fictional Cages offer the real Cage the space to marvel at his own mythmaking, the real impact he’s had on his fans, and a showcase to remind Hollywood of his range. This is an actor equally as capable of performing in popcorn fluff and voice acting in family-friend animated films as he is tapping into the madness of “ Mandy ” or the melancholy of “Pig.” Filled with easter eggs for fans of any facet of Cage’s career, the filmmakers don’t place a judgment on which of his films have the most value, understanding that a favorite film is intimate and personal, and that what matters is that it does resonate on some level. 

Even amidst all this meta-commentary on contemporary filmmaking, the mechanics of Hollywood, and the emotional heft of fandom, Cage the man always knows what is expected of Cage the myth. In “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” he finds the perfect synthesis of the two, and in turn delivers one of the most complex, yet crowd-pleasing performances of his career. 

This review was filed from the SXSW Film Festival. The film opens on April 22nd.

Marya E. Gates

Marya E. Gates is a freelance film and culture writer based in Los Angeles and Chicago. She studied Comparative Literature at U.C. Berkeley, and also has an overpriced and underused MFA in Film Production. Other bylines include Moviefone, The Playlist, Crooked Marquee, Nerdist, and Vulture. 

• Nicolas Cage as Nicolas 'Nick' Cage
• Pedro Pascal as Javi Gutierrez
• Neil Patrick Harris as Ted
• Tiffany Haddish as Vivian
• Lily Mo Sheen as Addy
• Ike Barinholtz as Ray
• Sharon Horgan as
• Kevin Etten
• Tom Gormican
• Melissa Bretherton

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