In many ways, Unbreakable was the highlight of M. Night Shyamalan‘s career, and it’s been all downhill from there. Bruce Willis, who had previously worked with Shyamalan on The Sixth Sense, reunited with the director for Unbreakable in 2000. One of the best things about Unbreakable are the surprises, so if you don’t already know the premise of the film, then we’re not going to tell you what that is in this article.
Shyamalan did eventually get around to making a loosely connected Unbreakable trilogy that ended with Glass in 2019. But as a big fan of the original Unbreakable, my personal recommendation is that you ignore Glass entirely. In retrospect, Unbreakable is better as a standalone story without any of the convoluted retcons that arrive in that so-called conclusion. And now, it’s time to share the reasons why you should watch Unbreakable on Max.
Bruce Willis gives a surprisingly vulnerable performance
Following his breakout performance in Die Hard, Bruce Willis’ characters were increasingly over-the-top action heroes. The Sixth Sense gave Willis a nice change of pace with a more sensitive role, and he continued that trend in Unbreakable as David Dunn, a security guard whose marriage is falling apart. The only thing that gives David a second chance to save his marriage to Audrey Dunn (Robin Wright) is that he lives through a devastating train accident. The Dunns take that miracle as a sign that they should try to make their marriage work.
But that’s not what the film is really about. From this point on, David is made to question things that he’s ignored his entire life, and he’s entirely unsure about what to believe and if he should put his trust into an apparent lunatic. It’s a level of vulnerability that we’ve rarely seen in Willis’ performances. The film also takes the time to establish David’s relationship with his young son, Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), who believes that his father’s survival is more than just a fluke.
Samuel L. Jackson walks a fine line between sympathy and madness
As much as Unbreakable is Willis’ film, it also belongs to Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price. In fact, Elijah appears in the movie before David does, simply to establish that he was born with very easily breakable bones. And that’s something that haunts Elijah for the rest of his life. In the present, Elijah reaches out to David with a wild theory about why he survived the train wreck. Like any rational person would, David thinks Elijah is crazy. But the audience never loses sympathy or empathy for Elijah at this point because the film suggests that he’s been right all along.
Where Jackson really shines are the scenes where Elijah has given up and he believes that his efforts were all for nothing. Elijah is broken both physically and mentally until gets the sign that he’s been looking for. Willis and Jackson had previously shared a lot of screen time in Die Hard with a Vengeance, but they find a new dynamic to play in this movie as David and Elijah slowly become friends despite some very deep trust issues between them. Yet without that bond, the rest of the movie would play very differently.
Shyamalan creates incredible moments of emotion and tension
The reason why Unbreakable ranks among Shyamalan’s best movies is that the director hadn’t entirely given himself over to twists for shock value the way he did in his later films. There are definitely some twists in Unbreakable, especially once the audience finally realizes what kind of story they’ve been watching all along. That leads to some of the movie’s most exciting moments as David follows Elijah’s advice and opens himself up to a new world.
Regardless, those big turns wouldn’t have been as effective if Shyamalan hadn’t also established the emotional stakes of the story for David and his family. The two stories intersect with each other in satisfying ways. That’s why the real ending of the movie isn’t the somewhat abrupt epilogue, it’s the last time we see David and his family gathered together.
James Newton Howard’s score is a masterpiece
Casual film lovers don’t always give enough credit to the composer for their musical contributions. But Unbreakable would not be complete without the fantastic score by James Newton Howard. The way that Howard’s music connects to the things happening on screen is also a testament to Shyamalan’s work on the picture. However, Howard’s notes go a long way toward bringing things to a crescendo, especially late in the film when David realizes what he’s supposed to be doing.
The clip above is entitled The Orange Man, and it’s from one of the movie’s climatic sequences. It’s too big of a spoiler to describe what’s happening in the scene, but the music takes us on a journey as David finally lives up to the promise he’s had his entire life.
Watch Unbreakable on Max.
