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Glass

I am, and likely always will be, a Shyamalan apologist. He’s had more hits than misses, and I think we need to be more accepting of someone who’s willing to try new and outrageous things. That’s how we get masterpieces like The Sixth Sense, and Unbreakable. And – in my humble opinion – Glass.

I adored this movie. Seeing everything come together after 19 years was a sight to behold, executed with brilliant cinematography, excellent acting, and a handful of twists. I really appreciated the effort paid to continuity, bringing in unused footage from Unbreakable, hiring back the kid despite him not being a big name, and pulling in plot threads from two fairly independent movies to paint them as a cohesive whole.

I don’t know if this was Shyamalan’s plan all along, but I buy it. I like his universe. I like his take on what might happen if “supers” started appearing in society. Most movies would have us believe that they’d become rockstars, but I think there’s a lot to glean from Shyamalan’s interpretation — that we’d fear them, ostracize them, and try to pretend they didn’t exist.

Despite having seen trailers and two movies to the contrary, Glass manages to convince the viewer — if only for a second — that maybe these three people aren’t special. Maybe they’re just making things up in their heads, pushing their bodies to do silly things, and trying to overcome a disease of the mind. That’s quite a feat considering anyone who’s paying attention can be pretty certain David Dunn is practically invincible, Glass is more intelligent than any human, and Horde has an alter that can climb walls and bend steel.

The only negative thing I can say about this movie is that it lacked some of the subtlety that I’m used to from M. Night Shyamalan. A lot of themes were belabored to the point of exhaustion, when a simple hint would have worked fine. In fact, it’s what I generally love about his work. That it leaves you guessing and wondering and interpreting long after the credits roll. I can only assume that somewhere in the process of making this film, someone said “I don’t get it” and made him go back and remove the subtlety.

This is a divisive movie among critics and I’m interested to see what others think. I think it will be hated and loved, and nothing in between. For me, it’s a love, and a great start to 2019.

Rating: 5 stars
Should you watch it? Maybe
Should you take your kids? No
What you should watch first: Unbreakable, Split


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