Glass

Movie Name: Glass
Year of Release: 2019
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard, Luke Kirby, Adam David Thompson, M. Night Shyamalan, Shannon Destiny Ryan, Diana Silvers, Nina Wisner, Kyli Zion, Serge Didenko
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review

M. Night Shyamalan has assuredly been carving the career for himself that is governed by his tastes and strategy, as opposed to fitting into what the cinematic/film media was at some point trying to box him into (the new Steven Spielberg paradigm at some point). Since going back to the roots of lower budget features with "The Visit", Mr. Shyamalan has been able to film the stories he wants, with "Glass" being the closure of a trilogy he started with the underrated "Unbreakable" in 2000, which he followed with "Split" in 2016. The narrative focuses on the convergence of three characters, the multi-personality Dennis/Patricia/Hedwig and all the others contained in that body (or The Horde), David Dunn (or The Overseer), and Elijah Price (or Mr. Glass). The all find themselves confined to Raven Hill Memorial, where Dr. Ellie Staple wants to prove that they're all delusional thinking they are possessed of super human powers. David's son, Joseph, alongside Elijah's mother, Mrs. Price, and Casey Cook, who survived The Horde's captivity, all try to convince Dr. Staple that they are indeed possessed of superhuman abilities, but the Dr. seemingly debunks all their scenarios/explanations. While Elijah seems to be apparently catatonic, he has secretly been conducting additional research on David and The Horde, and has plans to escape the institute. Not only that, he also has plans to reveal humans with extraordinary abilities, by making The Horde and David fight at the opening of the Osaka Tower, a new skyscraper in Philadelphia. However as his plans start to take shape, some things also happen that fall outside of what he had predicted, including Dr. Staple who isn't everything she's been leading them all to believe.  

After the well received "Split" where Mr. Shyamalan went back to the narrative he introduced with "Unbreakable", "Glass" is the film where all the plot-points converge, and where the writer/producer/director finally exposes his vision of what superheroes consist of, at least in his own universe. Of all three films "Unbreakable" continues to be the most interesting one, since the director creates a progressive disclosure of what is taking place, and of how these characters are finding out who they are, much like the audience is. In the first film we also get to understand much of the characters' family dynamics, and why they are the way they are, and why they've always felt slightly off-kilter in whatever environment they found themselves in. "Glass" piggybacks quite a bit on what the prior films have established, and introduces the catalyst for their convergence in the shape of Dr. Staple. Sadly she isn't give quite as much dimension, or for that matter, attention as the prior films did for their central characters. She's an under-developed catalyst, since the director continues to focus on the three superhuman individuals, but now does so more in a superficial manner, as they're collected types who exist with the purpose of fitting into a different scheme (which initially seems to be Elijah's, only to be revealed another more sinister one). That's possibly where the film feels most underbaked or undercooked. The sinister organization at play in the hospital where they're all gathered, gets very little attention, and feels shallow and inconsequential. The cast is uniformly fantastic, with James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark, and Charlayne Woodard, all creating solid interpretations of their characters. The production team is equally solid, with highlights going to Mike Gioulakis' cinematography, West Dylan Thordson's score, and Chris Trujillo's production design. The film remains watchable thanks to the commitment of this remarkable cast, but could have benefited of a refined character perspective.