Rewatching M Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable And Split

With the release of Glass this week, I went back rewatching this surprise formation of a cinematic universe.


Unbreakable (8.5/10)

When Bruce Willis still gave a damn about acting, we were able to get a great character, David Dunn, who had to discover his superpowers while going through a tough career change and relationship problems with his wife. I.e. real adult stuff.

One of the most grounded superhero movies of all time, but also the most misunderstood one; the buzz of The Sixth Sense, as well as the title of "the next Spielberg" at the time killed any chance of success this movie ever had because expectations were off the roof.

Shyamalan's humour back then was also more pronounced within his shots, and the slow pacing really captured the mood of Dunn. But it was always the exchanges between Dunn and Mr. Glass that drove the story forward.

As for creating suspense, Shyamalan was already a master back then. Even watching this today, when Spencer Treat Clark's character pointed the shotgun at his father, that scene still works today.

Also, another overlooked performance here by Robin Wright who delivered the sometimes-difficult lines from Shyamalan, natural as ever

One of the greatest shots and the greatest piece of storytelling in this movie was when Dunn landed on the tarp covering the pool. I remembered watching it the first time in the cinema, I could feel the fear of the danger sitting in my seat. Which in turn made the shot of Dunn climbing out of the pool so equally powerful.

And James Newton Howard's score brought the whole thing to another level.


Split (8/10)

James McAvoy was robbed of an Oscar nomination here for Best Actor. His work here was undeniably one of his career highlights.

(I still haven't seen Roman J. Israel, Esq nor Phantom Thread so I can't speak to those; but, to be honest, I thought David Kaluuya did not need to be in this nomination list.)

One of the best mystery in this movie was the location where the girls were hidden. I remembered the first time watching this, that kept me wondering throughout the movie because of the way one plot of the story revolved around the escape, i.e. the window. Though not the most original, but it created so much suspense.

But no doubt this was McAvoy's movie. Every time he was onscreen, he was mesmerizing. It was a joy, even this second time around, to see his face change from one split personality to the other. The level of acting here is just spectacular.

And Anya Taylor-Joy kept up with him the whole time. I'm looking forward to see what she would contribute to Glass.

Betty Buckley provided all of the expositions, though some scenes I felt were not necessary; while some - when meeting with McAvoy's character, seemed not exactly what a therapist would say. But just her performance alone created so much more layers to the story.

And that whole third act was one of the most suspenseful, from when Buckley's character arrived at the zoo, right until the end.

In the end, the message for us to take away was not quite the positive one. But coming from someone called "The Beast", I guess we should not expect positivity. But, for what it's worth, we could completely understand where "The Beast" was coming from.