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Sunday, December 02, 2007
M. Night Shyamalan Films
I don't know why I was thinking about these recently. All the movies I've seen of his have at the very least been interesting, but there is only one I actually like - Unbreakable. Why is this?
I think because it's the only one where the twist at the end feels as if it makes sense in the context of the story that has been told. The twist for The Sixth Sense is probably more surprising, but upon reflection and a second viewing, brings little to the rest of the story. In fact, watching it after knowing the ending just isn't very interesting. The twist at the end of Signs is hardly a twist at all (maybe the twist, after seeing two of his movies, was that there was no twist) - but it needed something larger to complete the movie. The twist for The Village was rather predictable and tedious. (I haven't seen Lady in the Water).
But the ending of Unbreakable makes us realize the very type of story we've just seen, and completes the part that was missing. It just feels so right. Nor does it dectract from the movie upon second viewing. It also helps that the rest of the movie is enjoyable in its own right, with it's own climax before the true ending. I came away from the movie not feeling cheated or tricked, but as if I suddenly understood what the movie was trying to say. (Ignore the rest of this if you haven't seen the movie yet but plan to).
All through the film, there are two competing influences - the "comic book" story of the main character's discovering of his abilities, and the "real-life" struggles of the main character as a human being. For a long while, I felt as if these really were competing with one another - which story was it trying to tell? Of course, part of the problem is that something is lacking from the comic book part of the story - the presence of a villain. The ending resolves this, showing the villain, and making it clear that it really was a comic-book story - but at the same time, as the villain says, it is about discovering who we are. This brings two realizations. The first is that, after all, comic book stories really are about discovering our identity, as the main character has to do with both his abilities and his real life. Secondly, that discovering our identity is not always something we should wish for - as the villain finds out. This is not to say that it was his "destiny" to be the villain, but rather that his very act of determining his identity made him what he became. It's a brilliant revelation of the structure of the comic book story for both this film and for the genre.
I don't know why I was thinking about these recently. All the movies I've seen of his have at the very least been interesting, but there is only one I actually like - Unbreakable. Why is this?
I think because it's the only one where the twist at the end feels as if it makes sense in the context of the story that has been told. The twist for The Sixth Sense is probably more surprising, but upon reflection and a second viewing, brings little to the rest of the story. In fact, watching it after knowing the ending just isn't very interesting. The twist at the end of Signs is hardly a twist at all (maybe the twist, after seeing two of his movies, was that there was no twist) - but it needed something larger to complete the movie. The twist for The Village was rather predictable and tedious. (I haven't seen Lady in the Water).
But the ending of Unbreakable makes us realize the very type of story we've just seen, and completes the part that was missing. It just feels so right. Nor does it dectract from the movie upon second viewing. It also helps that the rest of the movie is enjoyable in its own right, with it's own climax before the true ending. I came away from the movie not feeling cheated or tricked, but as if I suddenly understood what the movie was trying to say. (Ignore the rest of this if you haven't seen the movie yet but plan to).
All through the film, there are two competing influences - the "comic book" story of the main character's discovering of his abilities, and the "real-life" struggles of the main character as a human being. For a long while, I felt as if these really were competing with one another - which story was it trying to tell? Of course, part of the problem is that something is lacking from the comic book part of the story - the presence of a villain. The ending resolves this, showing the villain, and making it clear that it really was a comic-book story - but at the same time, as the villain says, it is about discovering who we are. This brings two realizations. The first is that, after all, comic book stories really are about discovering our identity, as the main character has to do with both his abilities and his real life. Secondly, that discovering our identity is not always something we should wish for - as the villain finds out. This is not to say that it was his "destiny" to be the villain, but rather that his very act of determining his identity made him what he became. It's a brilliant revelation of the structure of the comic book story for both this film and for the genre.
