When the world has superheroes coming out of every nook and corner… when the world starts becoming dependent on superheroes to come and save them… when the world’s belief in superheroes becomes bigger than their belief in God… there has to be a counter force that questions this. Are these superhumans for real, or is there a logical explanation for their ‘apparent’ superpowers? Is it simply that because we have lost our faith in our leaders and our institutions, that we so desperately need to believe in heroes? Is that the reason why we do not want to see the simple human physio-psychological explanation behind a man who is unbreakable (David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis), a man with multiple personalities especially the fiercely strong human-animal Beast (Kevin Wendell Crumb, played by James McAvoy), and a man with a super mastermind (Elijah Price, played by Samuel Jackson)
This is what the movie #Glass attempts to explore, and for that M Night Shyamalan gets full marks. It is delightfully tangential and comes as a surprise when seemingly unrelated characters (from the 2 movies) come together, in an unexpected setting of a psychiatric hospital, being in therapy to be cured of their i-think-i-am-a-superhero mental condition, by Dr Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson). The story then revolves around the therapy conversations, menacingly building up (a bit too slowly) towards the grand un-expected twist, that we always wait for in Shyamalan movies.
And the climax comes with the all-too-familiar and powerful background score build up. Our hearts are racing. We are waiting to be hit by it. Waiting for Shyamalan to just blow our brains with his brilliance. Waiting to exhale. Waiting.. Breathless... White-faced… aaaaaand then we exhale and it’s over. Too little, too late. We pack our bags and we come home. Just another day.
By now, we have come to accept that we will never again see the genius of The Sixth Sense (1999) and Signs (2002), which not only kept us on the edge of our seats through the entire movie but also overwhelmed us by the final twist in the end. We went from spine-chilling scenes to emotional breakdowns through the course of the story-telling, finally ending in ‘woah-what-was-that’ feeling that stayed with us months after we walked out of the movie hall. We know by now, not to expect that. But, at least we need one or the other - either a gripping narrative (like the Village) or a fantastically amazing ending (like the Unbreakable). Unfortunately, Glass gives neither and leaves us underwhelmed.
It’s a joy to see a surprisingly-not-so-old-looking Bruce Willis, and Samuel Jackson back after 19 years. But the story-telling doesn’t allow us to enjoy their performances separately or together. James McAvoy does a good job showing his multiple personalities but somehow doesn’t leave you impressed. And Sarah Paulson as the mysterious doctor is decent but bland. As a result, the characters and their performances also make a weak impact.
To be clear, it’s not a bad movie at all and between the actors and their performances, there are moments and ideas to latch on to. The continuous reference to comic books imitating real life is really cool. It’s just that it’s not a Shyamalan-good-movie, even though it had the makings of it. It’s like you end up getting a flavour of what his films are like, without really getting a real bite of the taste, leaving you sufficiently teased, but totally unsatisfied. Or as crime master, Gogo told us all those years ago “Haath Toh Aaya Par Muhn Na Laga”
Maybe if he had worked with the idea without forcing the link to Unbreakable and Split? And perhaps a stronger point of view of what was it all for? To restore our faith in heroes? Or maybe to destroy it? To question our beliefs on what we take as real and what is fiction?
Maybe..
If only...
Alas!
The feeling we have come to live with, in the last many years of Shyamalan movies. But, like our belief in superheroes, we will not give up. We will still come to watch your next, again hoping.. maybe, this time!
