[Pic: imdb.com]
Manoj Night Shyamalan‘s Village isn’t still out in Chennai. But the promos have already started. Last week, Star Movies featured two nights of Night’s movies. The first one was his not-so-hit movie, Unbreakable. Unbreakable is unmistakably one of unnoticed Shyamalan’s movie that had an amazing surprise twist. Even Signs didn’t have a surprise twist on par with Unbreakable. Forget Sixth Sense, it’s a movie par excellence. Unbreakable is also one of my favorite movies, all time.
Most of us believed in comic heroes, at least during our childhood. And so a kid also believes in comic heroes. What if his father itself is a real life comic hero? What if the comic hero himself takes time/effort to believe that he is one? What if life leads a man to a secret labyrinth after an accident? So goes the premise of Unbreakable. Being a comic addict, I just loved the idea of the movie made on a comic hero.
Bruce Willis as David Dunn amused me with his startling performance. We have seen Willis perform as an action hero but here he is an action hero without knowing he is. And so his subdued performance lightens up his capabilities as an actor. Samuel Jackson as Elijah Price, who is a physically frail comic book fanatic, creates ripples in us. The last time I enjoyed this duo was in the third serving of Die Hard called Die Hard: With a Vengeance. Remember Jeremy Irons saying ‘Simon Says’ in that mesmerizing voice.
Though many were disappointed by Shyamalan for Unbreakable after a movie like Sixth Sense, he proves his story telling ability once again. With two people who are connected to each other by their extremities, Shyamalan weaves a web of beliefs, comic books, super heroes and so so.
Samuel Jackson’s characterization as MR. Glass inspired me a lot. A true believer in himself, an optimist, a man despite his physical illness gets out finding a man who is directly opposite to him physically. No one, No one except Samuel Jackson would have done this role such perfectly. Let me know if you didn’t love that character when he shouts in agony, They call me MR. Glass. Riveting performance. And as he extends his hands to Bruce Willis in the final scenes, I never expected IT to happen.
I watched the movie a couple of years back in the DVD, I couldn’t believe the surprise twist in the ending and re-played the final scenes again. It’s easy to create a mystery from the beginning of the movie and keep it alive but what’s important is to unleash it by fulfilling the expectation bestowed on the mystery. Shyamalan did it convincingly.
I hope his latest offering The Village, keeps up to the same expectation that we have on this Indian storyteller.
kirukkal.com 