Glass - Cracked but holds the attention
M.Night Shyamalan has had a rollercoaster of a career that began with 'Sixth Sense' that had the most awesome twist ending ever to other highs 'Unbreakable', 'Signs' and abysmal lows 'The Last Airbender', 'After Earth' and others. He made a resounding comeback with 'Split' in 2016 which was a big critical and commercial success. As promised the filmmaker who was once hailed as the next Speilberg has brought together characters from 'Unbreakable' and 'Split' in 'Glass' and gives it his own spin on the superhero genre.
Taking off from where 'Split' ended Kevin Wendel Grubb (James McAvoy) has four girls in his captivity and obviously they are going to end up as victims of the deadliest of his 23 other personalities - The Beast. David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is the local vigilante superhero known as The Overseer who with the help of his son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark) locates the hideout and frees the girl. The Beast realizes that The Overseer is an unusual adversary as strong as him and before the outcome of their showdown both are captured by the authorities and thrown in a mental facility. There the Dr.Ellie Staple seems to attempt to convince the duo along with the wheelchair-confined existing inmate Elijah Price/Glass (Samuel L Jackson) that they suffer from delusions of being superheroes while they are just ordinary people with psychiatrical ailments. Does the doctor manages to have her way with the trio or do their superpowers come to the fore is what the rest of the screenplay is all about.
James McAvoy has delivered a splendid performance alternating between the 24 personalities housed in him and the manner in which his voice and body language switches on and off to depict them is truly riveting. While the other two leading men are subdued throughout his over the top physical and emotional outpouring balances the screenplay nicely. Bruce Willis the biggest action hero of yesteryear actually has nothing much to do other than provide the invincible persona for The Overseer which he does well. Samuel L Jackson as the titular Mr.Glass for the first hour or so hardly speaks and bereft of any expression only his eyes show a glint of the ruthless mastermind that he is which is paid off in the climax. While the confrontation scenes between Jackson and MacAvoy is fulfilling one wishes there were some between him and Willis as well. Anya Taylor Joy who played one of The Horde's victims in 'Split' whom he lets go off is present in this movie promising a lot in the build-up but ends up not doing anything of significance in the story. Sarah Paulson as the psychiatrist not only does a good job of almost convincing the superheroes of doubting themselves but also the audience as to her true motives. Spencer Treat Clark who played Bruce Willis's son in 'Unbreakable' now appears in the same role as a grown up and is impressive and so is Charlayne Woodard repeating her role as Samuel L Jackson's mother.
What works best in 'Glass' is Shyamalan's ability to hold one's attention by making the air pregnant with expectation for the next jolt even if it does not really arrive. He goes into a humane study in depth of what it is to be broken and succeeds in conveying the intense pain of all his three heroes. All Night's fans look for his twist ending and here too he throws up a very unexpected climax which no one saw coming even though it is wholly not satisfying. As a parting shot he gives a feeling of inviting the audience into his new universe which hopefully gratifying in his next movies.
On the downside 'Glass' for all that the story promises unfolding slowly in the first hour or so chugs on to a rather meek ending. It is also disappointing the manner in which the three main characters are dealt with in the climax which is entirely opposite to what fans would expect when they were brought together in the first place.
Verdict : Go for this intense take on the superhero genre with the distinct M Night Shyamalan stamp which is engaging throughout.
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