UNBREAKABLE/ ***1/2

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Unbreakable

***1/2

Rated on a 4-star scale
Screening venue: Odeon (Liverpool City Centre)
Released in the UK by Buena Vista International on December 29, 2000; certificate 12; 106 minutes; country of origin USA; aspect ratio 2.35:1

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan; produced by Barry Mendel, Sam Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan.
Written by M. Night Shyamalan.
Photographed by Eduardo Serra; edited by Dylan Tichenor.

CAST.....
Bruce Willis..... David Dunn
Samuel L. Jackson..... Elijah Price
Robin Wright Penn..... Audrey Dunn
Spencer Treat Clark..... Joseph Dunn
Eamonn Walker..... Dr. Mathison

How to review a movie like "Unbreakable"? The reason to watch it is to see the details of the story become clear in a gradual, deliberate unfolding. The more I say, the more I risk spoiling surprises.

The film was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who made last year's wildly acclaimed "The Sixth Sense"; that piece was over-rated, I thought, taking a long time to get somewhere it chose not to go, and instead springing a twist ending on us that showed the whole emotional focus of the story to be a con trick. "Unbreakable" has some similarities -- it takes a long time for points to become clear, spooky atmosphere is created through heavy use of airy shots and static sound design, and much rests on the final scenes, in which everything is clicked into shocking focus.

Bruce Willis stars as David Dunn, the sole survivor of a massive train wreck, who comes into contact with a strange comic-book collector named Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson). Dunn has never been injured. Price has a rare brittle bone disorder that causes him to suffer breakages after any slight injury. Price has theories about Dunn's destiny, which he determines to impart to him, whether he wants to hear them or not -- and things develop from there.

What this turns out to be is a strange, sombre take on the superhero genre; I'm tempted to say it's what "Superman" would be like if directed by Ingmar Berman, but that's gauche wordplay -- one of the most impressive things about "Unbreakable" is the thoroughly original manner in which Shyamalan approaches his material. It's not a gimmick, so it doesn't wear off; as one of the characters in the movie points out, superhero comic books are exaggerations of more down-to-earth legends, and "Unbreakable" shows one of these legends as it might play out.

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