 UNBREAKABLE
Writer and Director M. Shyamalan says, "Sixth Sense was about communication, and Unbreakable is about finding your place in the world." |
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Directed, written by M. Night Shyamalan
Bruce Willis .... David Dunn
Samuel L. Jackson .... Elijah Price
Robin Wright .... Audrey Dunn
Spencer Treat Clark .... Joseph Dunn
Charlayne Woodard .... Elijah's Mother
Eamonn Walker .... Dr. Mathison
Leslie Stefanson .... Kelly
Produced by Gary Barber (executive), Roger Birnbaum (executive), Barry Mendel, Sam Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan
Original music by James Newton Howard
Cinematography by Eduardo Serra
Film Editing by Dylan Tichenor
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including some disturbing violent content, and for a crude sexual reference. |
RealVideo - Official Site
QuickTime hi-res 22 MB 480x360
QuickTime hires 16 MB 320x240
QuickTime lo-res 9 MB 240x180
Quicktime TV Spot 1.3 MB 240x180
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1.Visions 2.Reflections of Elijah 3.Weightlifting 4.Hieroglyphics 5.Falling Down 6.Unbreakable 7.Goodnight 8.The Wreck 9.Second Date 10.School Nurse 11.Blindsided 12.The Orange Man 13.Carrying Audrey 14.Mr. Glass/End Title
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ARE YOU UNBREAKABLE? |
STUDIO SYNOPSIS:
A man (Bruce Willis) learns that he is the sole survivor of a train wreck -- someone who is unbreakable. An outsider (Samuel L. Jackson) then encourages him to discover and embrace his true destiny. |
 THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
Here is a film about secrets, truth, life and death. |
UNBREAKABLE
REVIEW BY DAVID BRUCE
THIS IS NOT A SPOILER REVIEW
Click to enlarge the larger thumbs
The smaller photos do not enlarge.
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 CAR NUMBER 177
Right from the start of the film we know that Shyamalan is at it again with all kinds of symbolism -just like in Sixth Sense. There are suggestive numbers that are centered right under David's window. 1= God, and 7= the sacred divine Sabbath number and suggestive of eternity. We know that this will not be an ordinary train trip. This one has a divine purpose connected to it. We are on a train ride to destiny. You might say, "There's a slow train coming." |
 CHILD'S VIEW -WE BECOME CHILDREN IN THE MIDST OF FAITH.
There is some interesting camera work in the car as the train races down the tracks. The camera is set at a kid's eye level and shifts back and forth between the seats as David attempts to pick up the young women seated next to him. Shyamalan cuts away only to establish an on looking little girl. This brilliant camera work sets the tone for the whole picture -it is from a child's point of view. Shyamalan is quoted as saying, "I always think of stories with kids at the center." Since the camera is our point of view, we become the on looking child. He says that children "represent a kind of innocence and faith." Shyamalan is inviting this audience to enter into the world of wonder, innocence and faith. |
 THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION.
In popular mythology super heroes are often presented as overcomers of death. Like Superman they are resurrected heroes after the pattern of Jesus Christ. David is presented before the crash as a man in deep pain (kudos to Bruce Willis' acting). We know it is marital (he removed his ring) and we see him in deep focused contemplation. In effect Shyamalan is presenting a character in need of rebirth -a new beginning. And that death and rebirth come in the form of a fatal train crash. All passengers are killed except for David, who rises from among the dead. |
OTHER CONCURRENT FILMS THAT USE ACCIDENTS TO ESTABLISH A SENSE OF DESTINY
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 BOUNCE uses the death of a spouse to bring about a sense of romantic destiny. |
 RED PLANET uses a crash landing on Mars to bring astronauts face to face with destiny. |
 THE 6TH DAY uses a near fatal football injury to set the course of a new destiny. |
 THE USE OF PRIMARY COLORS. The color that Shyamalan uses for the family seems to be yellow. In scene after scene Shyamalan will dress his subject in a bright color and surround it with a bland grayish background and foreground. This technique centers the eye on the subject. Again the camera generally stays a child's eye level. |
MEANING OF THE COLORS:
YELLOW = FAMILY AND HOME. Notice the use of greens and yellows in the Dunne's home. The son wears blue and yellow. David's security cap has green and yellow. When David and his wife have date in bar note the yellow painting and she is in green.
RED = LINKS FATHER AND SON. Son wears red T shirt and father wears red hat.
PURPLE = THE GLASS MAN. Notice that first comic book comes wrapped in a purple box with purple tissue inside. He has purple plates. Wears purple. Some walls painted purple.
BRIGHT COMIC BOOK COLORS = VILLAINS. 1st in bright orange. 2nd in purple & red. 3rd is bright blue. 4th in red, etc. |
 EMBRACING THE CHILD
The most significant relationship in the film between David with his son, Jeremy. |
 A BRIEF HOLDING OF HANDS
Shyamalan is a master at subtle detail. The camera, again at a child's level, reveals David and wife, Megan, hold hands. And then the hands part. A highly symbolic statement of the failing relationship. Also notice that wife Megan also dresses in yellow. |
 THE HAND CONTACT IS BROKEN
As the family leaves the emergency hospital following the accident, they do so as a broken family. This sets up a compelling paradox of an unbreakable man within a breakable relationship. I love paradox. Again, note the use of strong bright colors within in a bland background. Shyamalan keeps us focused on the important subjects within the frame. He is a brilliant film maker-pun intended. |
 SLEEPS IN KID'S ROOM
So why the broken relationship? Shyamalan explains, "Sixth Sense was about communication, and in this film it's about finding your place in the world." There are few things as disorienting as a failing marriage. David is struggling to find place and meaning. In this scene he knocks on the door of his former bedroom to speak to his wife, he now sleeps in his son's room. Very sad. Shyamalan is underscoring the search for place and meaning. |
 CHILD LIKE HERO
David ponders the reasons for his survival at the kitchen table over a bowl of kid's cereal -of course. David is very childlike in his wonderment. |
 AN EXPERT IN COMIC BOOK MYTHOLOGY.
Elijah is the exact opposite of David. He suffers from a rare disease the makes him brittle and very breakable. Elijah contacts David to encourage him to search out why he escaped uninjured from the train wreck. Is there some purpose and destiny involved here?
Elijah is also a collector of comic books and comic art. He believes that comic books are an extension of ancient mythological stories concerning the ongoing battle between good and evil. He believes that comics contain profound truth in exaggerated form.
BY THE WAY:
Every day hundreds of MILLIONS of people worldwide read and understand the visual-story medium that is known as "COMICS" in the western world. In other countries and cultures they're called manga, manhwa, bande dessinee or BD, komiks, bilderstreifen or bildergeschichter, historietas, quadrinhos or HQ, tabeos, foto novela, fumetti, or by some other term. But no matter the name, comics are the world's most widely read and popular form of literature!
Fifteen million Spider-Man comics are sold each year in 75 countries and in 22 languages, and the comic strip appears in 500 newspapers worldwide. The Garfield comic strip is distributed to over 2,600 newspapers worldwide. An estimated 263 million readers see Garfield each day in 63 countries with translations in 23 languages. The most read Christian writer is not C. S. Lewis, Frank Peretti, or Billy Graham. It's someone who has more readers than all of these authors combined. It's Johnny Hart, one of the most widely syndicated cartoonist in the world. He draws two well-known comic strips, B.C. and Wizard of Id, which reach some 100 million readers worldwide every day.
(Data from Rox35) |
 SUPER HUMAN ABILITIES
In a scene to underscore the idea of uniqueness within destiny, David discovers that he can lift in excess of 300 pounds. |
 THE FASCINATION OF THE CHILD
Jeremy stands in awe as his dad lifts greater and greater amounts of weight. Shyamalan explains, "The years 10 to 12 were a big time in my life. They represent a kind of innocence and faith. These are about learning to believe; the wonder of kids is more applicable." |
 THE DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DAVID AND ELIJAH.
As David becomes more aware of his powers his relationship with Elijah become more significant. In the Bible, Elijah is the name of a prophet with unique insight. |
 DAVID CAN READ PEOPLE WITH BY SIMPLY TOUCHING THEM.
Elijah helps David understand that his career as a security guard is no accident. That his job is an extension of his destiny. David learns that by just touching people he can "read" them, and knows when someone is carrying a weapon. He discovers that he is the ultimate security guard. |
 STRONG PRIMARY COLORS.
Shyamalan always portrays his evil subjects in strong bright colors: blue, red, orange. And they are always surrounded by dull, muted, grayish backgrounds. Shyamalan makes it easy to visually follow the evil subjects. |
 COMIC BOOK HERO
Fully aware of his destiny and powers David is reborn as a superhero. His dress is significantly altered; Shyamalan uses the device of rain to bring about this change. Shyamalan also uses the water to set up tension -water is David's one weakness. I really enjoyed the interplay between strength and weakness. |
 MONK LIKE GOOD GUY
Shyamalan never seems to miss an opportunity to inject symbolism. David's monk-like dress reminds us of so many good super heroes. |
 KILLER IN STRONG PRIMARY COLOR
One of the bad individuals that David encounters is a home invader who is dressed in bright reddish-orange. This man is a home wrecker. In a certain way it parallels the start of the movie with David's collapsing home life. |
 SURPRISE ENDING
I will not give away the ending of the film. But its message is plain. We are all called to a special purpose and destiny. A destiny set by God. The question is: Will you embrace it? |
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OFFICIAL SITE
UNBREAKABLE © 2000 Touchstone Pictures. All rights reserved. |
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