Afterthoughts: ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Split’
Have you found your place in the world?
Warning: contains spoilers for the 2000 film.
As it turns out, I’m part of that very small group of people who had never seen Unbreakable by the time Split came out. While everyone was raving about the twist at the end, all I could think of was: “Wait, why is Bruce Willis in this movie?”… Little did I know!
I had heard from various reviewers that somehow Split was connected to a film that had come out about 17 years ago. That fact spiked my interest, of course, so I finally saw it a couple of days ago.
And what a surprise!
Unbreakable is an incredible film on its own. It’s the origin story of a superhero and his archenemy, told in the most humane and creative way. But beyond the birth of opposing forces, it’s also a story about finding your place in the world.
“You know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world”, says Elijah at the very end. “To not know why you’re here, that’s… That’s just an awful feeling!”
And who hasn’t felt out-of-place at least once in their lives. Who hasn’t sacrificed something they loved for something else: to fit in, to please someone else, or simply because you have no other choice.
Unbreakable tells the story of such two men, and it does it with both heart and a fascinating style. Every frame offers a beautiful sight that is hard to resist. But it’s not an empty spectacle. The characters which inhabit this world are just as rich, complex and interesting.
In the midst of our flourishing comic book movie era, who could imagine a film where a superhero doesn’t face off against creatures from outer space? Or a movie with no overdone action or super-fast editing? Could you imagine a film that centers on Superman defeating a single villain by choking them, or calling the police? It’s almost unthinkable! And what a revolutionary concept it would be if it came out today!
Unbreakable takes its time. Every scene and every moment is earned and resonant. There are no cheap thrills in the movie, but a profound and vibrant character study.
It has been quite a surprise to discover this little jewel after having seen Split, and I’m more excited than ever for the upcoming film in what could become the next great superhero trilogy. I do ask myself if Shyamalan can keep it up, and I wonder: now that we’ve seen the birth of the hero, the archenemy and a villain… what’s next?
If it does deliver, this could be the next Dark Knight or Captain America trilogy, with a unique tone of its own that could give us the chance to see something quite exceptional.
However, I must say that although the twist by the end does bring a new layer of enjoyment to watching Split, I disagree with reviewers who found worth in the movie only due to this connection between the two.
Without being acquainted with Unbreakable, I found Split a beautiful, haunting and layered film that can very well stand on its own. The argument –which I’ve heard and read repeatedly- that the movie loses its power with the arrival of ‘the Beast’ because it loses its ‘realism’, seems quite silly to me.
Split also explores the idea of being misplaced in the world and finding your worth only during strenuous circumstances. While being part of the world of Unbreakable makes it richer, indeed, it doesn’t make the theme less valid due to the supernatural abilities of the antagonist.
I’m oddly thankful for having seen Unbreakable for the first time after Split, and not before. The fact that the latter can still stand on its own without the immediate connection to the former movie attests its narrative strength.
I can hardly wait for the next chapter, and I give credit to Shyamalan for gracing us with such a wonderful comeback.
2019 can’t come soon enough!
