Tag Archives: Mike Gioulakis

Glass (2019): Bent, but Not Broken

After the surprise success of Split, Shyamalan’s follow up has become the much awaited sequel to this nearly 20 year film series. Having escaped capture, Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy; Atonement) continues kidnapping innocents until he and David Dunn (Bruce Willis), the main character from Unbreakable, find themselves caught and locked up in a mental institution with Dunn’s nemesis Mr. Glass (Samuel Jackson). They are placed under the supervision of a psychiatrist who claims they have delusions of grandeur, mistakenly believing themselves to be superheroes, and plans to cure them of this mental illness.

The leads are enjoying themselves reprising their roles. Willis, who has phoned in many of his performances, is fully invested in his weary, but committed Dunn who now runs a security store and patrols the city at night. McAvoy continues to embrace schizophrenic acting as he switches from playing a nine year old boy to a strict British woman and more. While sometimes resembling a comedian improvising new characters, the jarring personality changes are entertaining to watch. Jackson plays up his Mr. Glass as a cartoonishly evil villain that fits the film’s explicitly comic book tone. His erect hair and shimmering purple suit make him a cross between a mad scientist and the Joker with enough heinous acts onscreen to reinforce his threat, despite his physical appearance. The other returning cast member, Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey, plays a limited role and is pushed to secondary character status for the bulk of the runtime.

The pale, but pronounced colors rise far above the visuals of most superhero films.

As with all of Shyamalan’s films, the focus eventually shifts to the plot twist. In the case of Glass there are multiple reveals late in the film. None of these is as impactful as the twist from The Sixth Sense or as unexpected as the larger universe connection in Split. At the same time, the twists are inoffensive. They reveal some information which breaks a central relationship, but nothing that recontextualizes the narrative so far. They serve as additional facts rather than major paradigm shifts.

There are also attempts to flesh out the greater film world that fall flat. Shyamalan tries to expand his mythos with secretive organizations and hints at expanded lore, but these attempts at world-building come too late to have any effect. As the third, and presumably final, film in the series, this effort is unnecessary and distracts from the central story.

The final question of Glass is whether it builds on Shyamalan’s recent resurgence to good favor or if it is a trip back to his string of bad features from the mid-2000s. The true answer is neither. The film is somewhere in between. The story isn’t thrilling or surprising, nor does it create emotional investment, but the acting is enjoyable and the craft is strong. Shyamalan reteams with cinematographer Mike Gioulakis who adopts a striking color palette. He uses soft hues of purple, yellow, and green to represent Glass, Crumb, and Dunn, respectively, that are rarely used together in film and give the title a distinct, contrasting aesthetic. It won’t live up to the hype generated by the surprise reveal in Split and falls far short of its potential, but Glass is harmless entertainment.

3/5 stars.

Split (2017)

The words “M. Night Shyamalan” used to elicit groans or sighs. After releasing often laughably bad films through the late 2000s he returned in 2015 with The Visit, his first movie in a very long time to receive anything close to favorable reviews. While that film wasn’t a complete success and lacked some of his strongest talents because of the found footage shooting style, it did show hope for his future. With Split, Shyamalan has created his true return to form. Leaving a birthday party, three teenage girls, led by Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) as Casey, are kidnapped and awaken in a locked room. A stern man (James McAvoy; X-Men: First Class) enters their room and tells them not to worry because they will be taken care of. In other scenes, this same man is seen by his psychiatrist for dissociative identity disorder (DID). He has 23 total personalities, each with their own behavior and, according to his shrink, their own physiology. During their meetings he reveals that there is a 24th personality about to emerge.

The entire film rests on the shoulders of James McAvoy. With so much asked of him and so much of the runtime centered around his performance, a failing on his part would have easily crippled the movie. Fortunately, he is up to the task. Many actors would have relished an opportunity like this to show off their acting abilities, but McAvoy successfully juggles the disparate roles with aplomb. As he switches personalities, his accent, his mannerisms, and his overall presence completely changes. While it could be considered comical to see him dressed as a woman in high heels, McAvoy’s physical stature and commitment make it an unsettling sight. He is able to engender sympathy as he plays the child personality, Hedwig, then moments later fear as Dennis, the personality that kidnapped the girls. His adaptability is praiseworthy.

The dank interiors are the perfect setting for a kidnapping.

Shyamalan’s early films greatly benefited from strong direction and blocking and Split is no different. Camera movements are smooth and the sets are built to instill claustrophobia. Shyamalan hired Mike Gioulakis, the cinematographer of It Follows, to shoot this film and the effect is obvious. There is a noticeable improvement to the lighting and colors from The Visit and it helps establish the atmosphere. That being said, Split does not have the dread of Shyamalan’s best work. He is able to create tension in several scenes but isn’t able to maintain the suspense throughout. This is caused by the other two girls and a problematic backstory for Casey that distract and detract from the desired mood.

Sadly, any review of the director’s work will always need to answer one question: is there a twist? The answer in this case is not really. The film is fairly straightforward in its story and never hints at a hidden subtext. The ending will leave some viewers incredulous, but it is believable within the context of the film. The real surprise of the film comes as a stinger at the very end. It isn’t a twist, but it recontextualizes the narrative in the best way possible and hints at a very exciting path for Shyamalan’s next films. While Split isn’t his best work, it provides a welcome recovery of the director’s trademark style.

4/5 stars.