The actual film, however, is ultimately more of a drama, and a good one, if somewhat morose. Rather, it’s more like a genre meditation, and the thing he’s considering is “the superhero film.” This is interesting, because it’s not exactly how the film was marketed-rather, upon release, it appeared to be more of a supernatural thriller once again teaming Shyamalan with Bruce Willis, as in The Sixth Sense. Unbreakable is probably Shyamalan’s best overall script, and I can’t help but think that’s linked to the fact that for once, the story isn’t completely tied to his typical themes of faith or his own personal experience. Rarely has the danger of success been so clearly illustrated for an artist-Shyamalan crafted a great, effective, scary film that still holds up today, and then spent most of the next decade chasing that same accomplishment with rapidly diminishing returns. It bestowed the “brilliant young director” label on him, but also pigeonholed his personal style as a writer to the extent that his next five features at least were all reshaped by the aftershocks of The Sixth Sense. For better or worse, though, this is the defining film of Shyamalan’s career, and its success was a double-edged sword. Critical examination aside, it really is a truly frightening film, from the scene where Cole is locked in a box with an abusive ghost to the little moments-I always found the scene where all the kitchen cabinets and drawers open at once while off-screen to be particularly effective and creepy. Night Shyamalan movie, ranked best to worst:įeaturing great performances by Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment, along with a legitimately chilling atmosphere, The Sixth Sense was nothing short of a phenomenon when it hit multiplexes in 1999. Now it’s time to reexamine the man’s entire career to date with this complete ranking. Sure, Glass didn’t exactly stick the landing, but it kept Shyamalan in high enough regard to allow him to tackle his newest high-concept film: Old. But then, an odd thing happened-smaller budgets and an association with Blumhouse Productions began to salvage the director’s stock, first in the darkly comic The Visit and then in the genuinely thrilling Split. He entered the 2010s as a pariah, fresh off the disappointment of ruining The Last Airbender’s live-action debut, and shuffled into the nearly as wretched After Earth in short order. Suffice to say, the last decade was a complicated one for Shyamalan.
For as little debate as there is about Shyamalan’s best film, there’s a healthy, passionate debate on what his worst film to date has been. But it’s the films he’s made since that dragged this once-optimistic outlook back down to Earth and into the muck. It’s the thriller that made the Indian-born director a household name and anointed him as the next Hitchcock. Unless you’re one of those intense Unbreakable fans who exist on the fringe, you pretty much know that the top film on any such list is going to be The Sixth Sense. The reason is simple-there’s not a ton of debate about Shyamalan’s best film. Night Shyamalan, you order it “best to worst.” With most any other director, you’d put this list “worst to best.” With M.
0 kommentar(er)
