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Unbreakable
A co-worker, seeking a little equal suffrage bonding, asked me what my favourite movie is. Being put on the spot is never a good thing so I just tossed out a handful of my usual regularly watched flicks like The Matrix, The Fifth Element and Wings of Desire. But I should have put Unbreakable near the top (cannot be a single movie but a short list) as it is one movie that I do not just watch over but I am moved by each and every viewing. Three themes work perfectly for me in this movie: the emerging hero, finding your place in the world and the sadness of not doing so, and fixing a broken relationship.
Of course, it's a superhero movie of the furthest degree, doing so much more for me than any Superman Returns ever will. Even in just a rain slicker, Bruce Willis's David Dunn bears the striking figure of a super man so much more than the skinny guys who have played the last son of krypton. And of course, it is always so much more heroic for the everyman to rise up and protect his fellows, even if he cannot be hurt, cannot be injured but can only be drowned. My favourite scenes, the ones that can bring a tear the eye of this jaded, tired & bitter old comic book reader are the ones where the hero overcomes not only the obstacles put before him but the ones within himself. David Dunn carries a sadness with him, one present in his chest all his life. It is unfulfillment. When he is tossed out the window into the swimming pool, Dunn is very afraid he will die, drowning in a covered pool. But with the help of his two rescuees, he lifts himself from the pool in a shoulder-rolling image of great strength. It's just the angle of the camera and the rising out that does it for me. Then later, after he has successfully been the hero, he takes his wife from her self imposed exile in the main floor bedroom and carries her like she weighs nothing to their once shared bedroom. He lays her down and puts his head on her shoulder, seeking comfort from her for a nightmare he has awoken from. Despite their kryptonites, we all know the supermen are only truly disarmed by the loves of their lives, probably the only thing Superman Returns got right. Lastly, the later scene where Dunn slides the newspaper across the table to his son, depicting his heroic act, an act while grounded in the reality that two died, is uplifting to his son, the public, the rescued children and ultimately, to himself & his relationship. I cry every time. My own kryptonite, I guess. It strikes me as odd, that the Wiki article says there were supposed to have been sequels. Where would you go from now but in the expansion of his heroism? You could build similar themed movies exploring the concepts of superheroism, such as secret identies, sacrifice or with great power comes great responsibility. But I believe they might have diluted the wonderment that is Unbreakable in much the way the sequels of The Matrix have done for so many people. Speaking of The Matrix, I still believe Neo played the best superman in any movie ever. His rescue of Trinity at the end of Reloaded. And I loved the sequels as much as the original, only differently. July 24 06 |
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Comments
It is M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense that remains champion for "Movie That Made Me Cry the Hardest and Longest". Somehow i avoided all the spoilers (both media and public) and saw it for the first (and only) time in my living room. I had no idea what was coming and when the ending was revealed it hit me like no film before or since. I sobbed inconsolably. I was affected at such a deep level that i really don't know what it was about the revelation that moved me so.
An aside for fellow movie buffs; is there a statute of limitations on spoilers? How long after a movie/TV show/game is released is it appropriate to assume that everybody that cares has already seen it? I’m always extra careful not to spoil the surprise. Toast is probably tired of hearing me complain about what I consider the Worst. Spoiler. Ever. When "Gilmour on the Arts" reviewed Hard Core Logo on the tele and showed the surprise ending in the clip. It was one of the few times I have ever written a media complaint. Damn you David Gilmour!!!
But seriously, is it safe to say that Rosebud was a ^*#&^$ yet???
Posted by: joe at July 25, 2006 04:57 PM
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