Review: Glass

As the ending of M. Night Shyamalan's Split revealed, much to everyone's shock and excitement, it existed in the same cinematic universe as 2000's Unbreakable, which introduced Bruce Willis' David Dunn, a security guard who discovers he possesses unbreakable skin and superhuman powers, and his arch enemy, the physically fragile but mentally cunning Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson). With James McAvoy's Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 23 different personalities with one more called "The Beast," from 2016's Split now in the mix, it seemed an exciting prospect to unite these three characters in one film.

However, Glass is a curious and deeply disappointing creation. Curious because this is essentially Shyamalan's version of The Avengers, and yet he treats it as an origin story for characters who have already had their origin stories, an approach which already lends itself to disappointment, but then he compounds it by concocting a tale that tests the audience patience and insults their emotional investment in not only the characters but in Shyamalan's storytelling abilities.

The film takes place several weeks after the events of Split. David runs a security firm with his now-grown son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark, reprising his role) whilst roaming the streets and dispensing vigilante justice as the Overseer. He bumps into Kevin one day, then heads over to the abandoned factory where Kevin has been holding four cheerleaders hostage for the Beast. David and the Beast end up doing battle, but are both captured by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who instructs the authorities to transport them to Raven Hill Memorial, a psychiatric research facility where Elijah has spent the last 19 years. The doctor coolly informs David and Kevin that she specialises in treating people who suffer from a particular delusion of grandeur wherein they believe themselves to be superheroes, and she is here to help them cure themselves of that delusion.

Thus, we spend a chunk of the film's already bloated 129 minutes bearing witness to an extended group therapy session. To be fair, the conceit is interesting, though not particularly original: what if you can convince people who know they are different from the rest that they aren't? The appeal of superheroes is that they speak to those who feel they don't belong, who are ostracised and ridiculed for being different or for being special, so to tell those people that they are not, that they are just like everybody else, seems a special kind of cruelty. Yet there's no such underlying intrigue to these sessions, only laborious dialogue and execution. It's clear that Shyamalan is contorting the narrative to lead to a big reveal, but one grows impatient and enervated by the proceedings. What wishes that the director would have had more fun with the premise. With Paulson about to take on the role of Nurse Ratched in the upcoming series Ratched, it might have been great to have Glass play out as a superhero riff on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

No such luck. At least McAvoy injects some much-needed energy into the film as he changes from one personality to another at often dizzying speed. It's an unapologetically flamboyant performance, but even it, like the film, becomes a tedious chore.

Glass

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Written by: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard, Luke Kirby