WHILE the storyline takes its time unravelling, and at times, features jumpy scenes that feel like they require more depth, the impressive cast, and the film’s core message means Glass makes the cut to be on your cinema must-watch list.
This superhero, comicbook thriller is the culmination to a superhero film trilogy that began with Unbreakable (2000), and continued with Split (2017), all three written and directed by Shyamalan.
In Glass, David Dunn (Bruce Willis), who’s also the poncho-wearing vigilante called The Overseer, uses his superhuman abilities to track down Kevin Wendell Crumb aka The Horde (James McAvoy), who has 24 distinct and different personalities, including The Beast.
David’s attempted take-down of The Beast lands the two super-men in a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane.
This is also where Elijah Price or Mr Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) currently resides after being revealed as the mastermind behind the devastating derailment of the Eastrail 177 train that killed every passenger, except David, in Unbreakable.
The person responsible for housing them in the hospital is Dr Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), a psychiatrist that specialises in treating people who believe they are superheroes.
With Elijah, David, and Kevin each under lock-down in a room that essentially limits them from using their powers to escape, Ellie tries to convince the trio that their superpowers are merely delusions triggered by distressing events.
Yet, they all have a support system who believe the men are extraordinary – Elijah’s mother Mrs Price (Charlayne Woodward), David’s son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), and Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy), the sole survivor of a group of girls kidnapped by one of Kevin’s personalities in Split.
Unlike Mr Glass, I did not see this movie’s ending coming.
For fresh audiences who are going to watch Glass, fret not, because it includes flashbacks from Unbreakable and Split, helpfully connecting all three films.
Paulson’s splendid acting as Dr Ellie is chilling and intense, and McAvoy’s portrayal of his character’s many personalities deserves applause.
In the end, regardless of superhuman abilities, the key to being extraordinary is to believe that you are.
