Unbreakable
By M. Night Shyamalan (Writer/Director)
David Dunn (Bruce Willis) – A mild mannered security guard for Temple University’s stadium in Philadelphia, he is not aware that he is a rare individual. He is the Unbreakable person, one who rarely gets sick or injured. His name is a play on comic book hero names, as many of them have the same syllabic sound for their first and last name (Clark Kent, Peter Parker, Guy Gardener, etc.)
Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) – An avid comic book collector who owns an art gallery, he stalks David and his family in search of his opposite number, the one who doesn’t get hurt. Elijah was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a disease which makes his bones very brittle. It should be noted that he spends the film dressed in purple, a hint that he is a villain.
Audrey Dunn (Robin Wright Penn) – David’s wife, she is a physical therapist, and a woman who practices non-violence. Although she is unaware of it, David faked an injury in their car crash during college so he could quit football and marry her.
Joseph Dunn (Spencer Treat Clark) – David’s son, he is taken in by Elijah’s tale, and does his best to prove to his father that he is who Elijah says he is. (Even going so far as to nearly shoot him to prove his invulnerability.)
Elijah’s Mother (Charlayne Woodward) – She is a caring woman who gave her son comic books as presents in order to prevent him from becoming a shut-in.
Story Elements
The Disasters – Throughout the film, the characters talk about the major disasters which appear to have occurred in quick succession near Philadelphia. The first was the plane crash, the second was a hotel fire, and the third was the de-railing of Train #177, the train David was in. At the end of the film, we learn that Elijah caused all three disasters in an attempt to find someone who was indestructible.
Postcognition – This is a form of ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) in which an individual can sense the past. In addition to being ‘unbreakable’, this is David’s other power. When he touches individuals, he can sense the bad things that they have done. (The opposite of this is Precognition, the ability to see the future.)
Super Strength – One comic element to the film occurs when David realizes that there is no limit to his strength. In a scene that was cut from the film, he bench presses 500 pounds.
David’s Weakness – One of the dramatic events in the film is the discovery that David nearly drowned as a child. Elijah becomes very upset, as this nearly ruins his theory. However, he then theorizes that weaknesses are common to comic book heroes, so David’s hospitalization with pneumonia is still acceptable to his concept.
Colors and Comics – Throughout the film, although he was delving in low fantasy, the director did his best to imitate comic book styles. As such, several scenes are ‘framed’. That is, whenever he could, he made the action occur in a box. (As if it was a comic book panel)
Furthermore, since heroes and villains have costumes, and they often stand out, he made all of the villains in the film wear bright colors. (Most other people in the film wear flat colors, usually black, white, or grey) They are:
Gun-carrying man – Camouflage jacket
Child beater – Red overcoat
Drug Dealer – Red & Blue Sports jacket
Shoplifter – Red blouse
Racist – Yellow shirt
Rapist – Green Jacket
Murderer – Orange jumpsuit.
It should be noted that the hero (David Dunn) and the Murderer in the fight scene are both wearing uniforms. Lastly it should be noted that Elijah wears purple throughout the film, signifying that he is both a villain, and the mastermind. (Purple is the color of royalty)
At the end of the film, when Elijah realizes he is a villain, he also realizes that he grew up with a supervillain’s name, ‘Mr. Glass’.
Philadelphia Train Station – This is the biggest scene in the film, as it is where David accepts the fact that he is different, and uses his powers to find villains, and where he winds up rescuing two children from a psychopath who killed their parents.
Notes
Low Fantasy – This film is a Low Fantasy story. Low Fantasy is when a story contains fantasy/sci-fi elements, but does its best to appear as realistic as possible. It minimizes those parts and does its best to preserve human drama and behavior that is believable. It’s opposite, High Fantasy, often throws in stereotypical concepts of good and evil and contains elements in the film that are impossible to believe true.
Questions/Facts
1. In one deleted scene, David asks a priest about his survival of the train wreck and asks if there might be some reason that he survived (since his watch had been demolished). The priest yells at him for assuming he might be special in comparison to the other people on the train.
2. What is David’s job?
Security guard at a university.
3. What happens when David pulls aside a drug dealer, intending to catch him carrying the narcotics?
He doesn’t find anything on him.
4. How does Elijah wind up in a wheelchair?
He falls down the subway stairs while pursuing the man with the pistol.
5. What is the name of Elijah’s store?
Limited Edition – It is an art gallery that sells comic book art.
6. How did Elijah’s mother get him to go outside when he was a child?
She would put gifts (comic books) on a bench in a nearby playground.
7. Why did David stop playing football?
8. What is David’s one weakness?
9. How many criminals does David bump into at Philadelphia Grand Central Station?
10. How did Elijah reveal his true behavior to David?
11. What was the man in the camouflage jacket carrying?
12. How did Elijah originally introduce himself to David?
13. What sport was David good at when he was younger?
14. What job did Audrey have?
15. How does David learn about his weakness?