Glasses (2019)

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan | 129 minutes | drama, science fiction | Actors: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard, Luke Kirby, Adam David Thompson, M. Night Shyamalan, Serge Didenko, Russell Posner, Rosemary Howard, Bryan McElroy, Owen Vitullo, Johnny Hiram Jamison, William Turner

After years of mediocre to bad reviews for his films, M. Night Shyamalan finally had another success with ‘Split’ (2016); both the press and the public were enthusiastic about the film about the split personality Kevin Crumb, and lead actor James McAvoy was especially praised for his playing. At the end of ‘Split’ we saw a flash of an old acquaintance, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) from ‘Unbreakable’ (2000), with Shyamalan hinting that both ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Split’ are part of a trilogy. Although there were sixteen years between the first two films, he accelerated it with ‘Glass’ (2019). As early as 2000, there were rumors of a trilogy, but Touchstone Pictures claimed that, despite the good returns of ‘Unbreakable’ at the box office, there was no budget available. The character Kevin Crumb had already written Shyamalan at the time, but he was ultimately not seen in the film “to keep the balance”. So, years later, he got his own film instead. To connect the films, David Dunn shows up in the very last scene of ‘Split’. Shyamalan renamed his film series ‘Eastrail 177 Trilogy’, after the train that Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) crashes, leaving David Dunn alone to survive. The three films are all about the extraordinary powers that lie in the three central characters. It’s a superhero-centric trilogy, but it’s quite different from more conventional superhero movies, not least because Shyamalan – not only the director of all three films, but also the screenwriter – dissects his superheroes and uncovers the mystery surrounding their superpowers. to unravel.

In ‘Glass’ we see that David Dunn, together with his son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark, who played the same role in ‘Unbreakable’ as a thirteen-year-old), under the cover of a security company, plays a neighborhood watchman and tackles abuses. Kevin Crumb aka The Horde has kidnapped four cheerleaders and Dunn discovers where he’s hiding them. When he tries to free them, Kevin’s most terrifying of his 24 personalities, The Beast, takes control and a fight ensues. Police engaged by Joseph arrest both men and take them to an institution where they are treated by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson). Staple specializes in treating people who believe they have supernatural powers and tries to convince her patients that they don’t have superpowers. Elijah Price also appears to be staying in the institution. It turns out Staple has three days to “cure” the trio and trick them into thinking they are mere mortals. Elijah is kept calm with medication, flashes of light control Kevin’s mistaken identity and David’s weakness turns out to be water. By putting the three together during an evaluation, Staple hopes to get through to her three patients, but mastermind Mr. Glass has other plans…

“Glass” is largely set in and near Dr. Ellie Staple and thus offers little visual variety or spectacle. The fireworks have to come from the actors and James McAvoy in particular seizes the opportunity to shine with both hands. It’s still amazing to see how smoothly he switches from one personality to another by using only facial expressions, language, voice and body language. Compared to him, Willis and Jackson stand out starkly, although the latter fascinates us immensely with his staring into the void, endless silence and nervous twitches. Paulson is rather colorless and unnecessarily distracts attention from what we want to see. Shyamalan, who can also be seen in a cameo, does not fully convince with his screenplay. His ideas about superheroes and supervillains are original, and with ‘Unbreakable’ he was way ahead of his time. He tries to dissect the superhero phenomenon, approach it in a psychological way and reduce it to realistic proportions. He turns them into normal people who just happen to have an extraordinary gift. His villains are also ordinary people, who through circumstances and frustrations are capable of terrible deeds. Elijah Price was nicknamed Mr. Glass and was previously bullied for an illness that causes him to break his bones at the slightest sign. Kevin Crumb was abused by his mother and thus developed his dissociative personality disorder. This explains their crimes. That setup is refreshing, but unfortunately it doesn’t work out the way Shyamalan had in mind. He wants to make his point so badly that he forgets to turn it into a compelling story. The twist and eventual climax are also disappointing; there was much more to it.

After a series of lesser films, M. Night Shyamalan seems to be back in the firmament. Because even though ‘Glass’ is not entirely convincing, the intentions of the writer/director are good. Is the world ready for a cerebral take on the superhero genre? If done well, yes. Shyamalan could – and really should – have done more with his intriguing premise: what if ordinary people turn out to be superheroes? The acting of James McAvoy in particular and the fascination for Messrs Price, Dunn and Crumb drag us through the film, but the fact is that ‘Glass’ is the least film in the trilogy.