An "Unbreakable" Review

In my film class I have recently had the opportunity to view M Knight Shyamalan's exceptional film, "Unbreakable". "Unbreakable" stars Bruce Willis, as a security guard in Philadelphia who is for lack of better words- trying to find out his purpose in life. Through a series of extraordinary events, Willis is led to believe that he is a real-life superhero. This is influenced greatly through his meeting of a local comic book guru named Elijah Price, played by Samuel L. Jackson. In the end, I was quite surprised, as I learned that Price had masterminded several "natural" disasters, in order to find a single survivor, to fulfill his twisted fantasy of a real comic book hero. Price's motivation also comes from his medical condition (he has severely brittle bones), and he wishes to cure this condition. This was a real twist in my opinion, as I was lead to think that Willis actually was a superhero, and that he actually had superhero abilities, while in actuality, he simply used gut feelings and strength in order to save a certain family from a home invasion. I am personally surprised that this film didn't gross more money, but it seems that the general public wants mindless action and violence, which this film did not provide. As for technical aspects, I am amazed by some of the camera work by Shyamalan. He sure has come a long way since his first video. In particular, I enjoyed the shot in the train, which went back and forth between Willis and another Woman. The camera was situated in a crack between the two seats ahead of them, and it seemed to me like a continuous handcam shot, which is quite impressive. As well, Shyamalan used colour to great effect, I quite clearly remember the home invasion scene, where the home and it's surroundings seem to be in a darkish grey tint, while the prisoner is in bright orange. It seems to me that the orange represents danger, or a warning, and is quite appropriate considering the scene in which it was present. As most fans of this movie, I really wanted a sequel. I wanted to know if Willis would turn in Price to the police, or what would happen after their confrontation at the end of the movie. In conclusion, this film was in my opinion a gem that flew under the radar, one of Shyamalan's best, and a very thought provoking film.