First, some background. Then, an appraisal of Glass as-it-is. Finally, a re-imagining.
Background
Glass is a sequel to both Unbreakable and Split. And as many of you know by now, Split was a surprise sequel to (or at least in the same universe as) Unbreakable.
Both of the prior films were successes. Unbreakable imagined an ordinary man, David Dunn (played by Bruce Willis) as a man who discovers he has a superpower (or two). He is revealed to be a man with a super-human capability in real life.
His strange mentor, Elijah "Mr. Glass" Price (played by Samuel L. Jackson), turns out to have a dark side. A fanatic about comic books, he is hell-bent to find humans with superhuman abilities. He will go to any lengths in his quest, even if it means killing innocents.
Low key and sad, Unbreakable has a strong and deep resonance with the idea that ordinary people possess gifts and talents that make a person special, even extraordinary. It stays with you. It's a great film.
For years and years, I yearned for another installment in the Unbreakable story.
In a surprise ending, we see that David Dunn is sitting in a diner watching the TV news coverage about The Beast's rampage. At that moment, we recognize that both Dunn and Crumb are in the same universe...and that their match-up will be forthcoming.
Review of Glass
I loved the way the movie begins, with Dunn, now older and more tired-looking, running a small security business in a run-down section of Philadelphia with his son Joseph. Within the first fifteen minutes of the film's running time, Dunn and The Beast face off in an epic fight.
Unfortunately, the film then takes a sharp turn...and we find Dunn and Crumb incarcerated in a mental asylum (the same one where Mr. Glass was put years before) where psychologist Dr. Ellie Staple (played by Sarah Paulson) tries her darnedest to convince them that they are deluded souls.
As unconvincing as she is at her attempted therapy, this film is just as unconvincing. It is not the film I wanted, nor the film that Dunn and The Beast, not to mention Mr. Glass himself, deserved.
Re-Imagining of Glass
There is a glimmer of a great film here. For some reason I cannot fathom, the filmmaker (M. Night Shyamalan) missed it.
First, the tone (and color palette) of the film is wrong. The depressing and sad mood of Unbreakable was so right for a real-world superhero story.
Second, the soul-stirring music by composer James Newton Howard in Unbreakable is sorely missing in Glass.
Third, the tour-de-force multiple personality performance of McAvoy, so well featured in Split, should not have been rehashed all over again. The Horde (as his collection of types was called) needed to morph.
Fourth, the abrupt tonal shift, from the fight to the asylum, brought the movie to its knees, crawling along for the rest of the first hour, until Mr. Glass starts to put his plan into motion.
Here's what I would have liked Glass to deliver.
In Unbreakable, we learn that not only does Dunn have amazing strength, but he is "unbreakable," meaning he can't be hurt, not even by a train derailment where everyone else is horribly killed. Plus he has a form of psychic power where he can "see" a person's sins by touching them. When he brushes against a twisted killer, he senses that a monster is on the loose.
Fast forward to my-Glass, his son Joseph has learned over the years that he too has a subtle super-power: he can "hear" when someone is in mortal distress. We see a flashback to the moment when his mother died, and he raced down the hallway to her room, her heartbeat pounding in his skull.
He has a super-attuned ability to hear the fast heartbeats of the girls that The Beast has kidnapped. Working hand-in-hand with his Dad, the two begin to search for The Beast's new lair.
In Split, we learned that The Beast was one of a number of Crumb's distinct personalities. In my-Glass, we now come to learn (via "Dr." Elijah Price, appearing on a Fox-type TV news program, being interviewed, from his "office" in the insane asylum where he lives, for his "expertise" on humans with super abilities) that Crumb's supposed mental illness is actually a damaged super-power. Instead of the ability to manifest new identities for different situations, due to a severely abused childhood, his power is now like a careening runaway train that he can't control, spitting out new personalities left and right.
In my-Glass, a brand new one appears.
This new personality we will call The Phantom as it is similar to The Phantom of the Opera in that he is very crafty and able to create booby-traps in the new lair, waiting to snare and destroy the Dunns when they finally locate his new haunt, in the underground of the old Philadelphia shipyard.
As part of their investigation, the Dunns seek out the lone survivor from Split, Casey (played by Anya Taylor Joy), hoping that something she might tell them will provide the clue they need to find Crumb. She doesn't know much of anything, but David touches her hand, and Joseph listens to her heartbeat. Because she had a terrifyingly close encounter with The Beast, both David and Joseph "get" psychic clues from her. And both feel something for her (David feels like a father to her, Joseph feels attraction to her.)
Unbeknownst to them, The Beast has trailed them every step of the way, listening in while they meet with Casey. A short while after they leave, he pounces on her, whisking her away to his den.
At that moment, Joseph senses her fear and experiences a psychic "remote viewing" episode where he "sees" the dungeon in which she is chained up. This sudden burst of psychic power causes him to collapse and faint in his father's arms. Worried about his son, David picks him up and carries him home through the dark streets.
The next day, the Dunns are making breakfast when a news flash appears on their TV. A youtube video was uploaded by a mysterious source, showing a young woman chained in a cell. A voiceover says that unless David Dunn and his son come to save her, the girl will be sacrificed to The Beast.
A stunned Joseph blurts out, "I saw that, Dad. Last night before I blacked out, I saw that."
His Dad asks him if he knows where she is. Joseph answers, "At the shipyard."
This revelation leads to the climax of my-Glass. The Dunns prepare for the showdown, assembling the equipment they will take with them, loading their truck, and heading out. They reach the old abandoned shipyard and break in. David looks to Joseph who is using his power to listen for Casey's heartbeat. Once he picks up the signal, they head for an old derelict building. Once inside, they begin to descend to the lower levels.
As they descend, they encounter traps set by The Phantom, the first one a trapdoor in the floor. The Dunns fall through and land in another level. It's dark and they can hear the sound of dripping water. David, who fears water, looks at his son and they continue on, Joseph pointing the way as he homes in on Casey.
They soon encounter The Phantom's next trap, a sudden influx of water rushing upon them, sweeping them off their feet. Joseph grabs hold of David and pulls him to safety.
The water subsides and they set off again down a dank corridor, deeper into the subterranean levels of the shipyard.
Finally they reach Casey's cell where David uses his super-human strength to pull the chains from the stone walls, freeing Casey. Joseph and Casey embrace. David's eyes tear up and he smiles.
But they are not out of danger yet.
The Beast appears and the second epic fight ensues with David and his nemesis battling hand to hand. David manages to get Crumb in a chokehold and renders him unconscious. The Dunns and Casey then make a run for it.
Joseph says, "We haven't seen the last of The Beast."
"Or his horde," Casey adds.
David nods his agreement and the three walk toward the truck.
Cut to a TV news broadcast, again featuring "Dr." Price being interviewed for his knowledge of super-powered humans. The news anchor asks him about his supposed expertise.
"Why should the public trust what you have to say?"
Price answers: "You come here to interview a madman. You seek answers to these anomalies, these unexplainable facts. These things that are happening here in the City are not happening in isolation. There is a wave coming. Let me be the first to tell your viewers what to expect. There will be more super-powered humans. And there will be a war. Because the powers-that-be will not stand for it. They will not tolerate having living gods amongst us."
End
Roll credits
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