Glass

Two years ago to the day I was pondering M. Night Shyamalan’s Split; an exciting and original thriller with a tour-de-force, multiple personality performance by James McAvoy that ultimately fell a little short with an ending that didn’t quite do the rest of the film justice and somewhat shoehorned the film into the universe of an earlier Night classic: Unbreakable.

It was a welcome, if bizarre, twist that suddenly thrust the Director back into the spotlight and we’ve seen more buzz surrounding the film that unites the previous two: Glass, than perhaps anything else he’s released since his early-noughties heyday.

What follows is a tonally inconsistent, often baffling jumble of a movie that nevertheless is thoroughly enjoyable, unsettling and well crafted.

We follow the Split path here focussing on McAvoy’s Kevin and his myriad personalities. He’s still on the loose and is keeping more girls hostage. As revealed in Split, David Dunn is still aiding the city as ‘The Overseer’ and is keeping an eye on Kevin’s movements.

After a pulsating introduction where the two come into contact with each other faster than you may be anticipating, they’re caught and held up in a psychiatric facility for testing alongside another old friend: Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr Glass.

Seeing Jackson and Bruce Willis reprise their roles is a delight and I’m wracking my brains to even think of the last time Willis has been so watchable on screen. The dynamic with the fire cracking performance of McAvoy is perfect and suits Shyamalan’s tone.

What’s less satisfying is the direction the plot takes. Sarah Paulsen’s Dr. Ellie Staple (a fantastic performance) is psychoanalysing the three ‘super’ humans on the assumption that they are delusional and dangerous. It’s clear from moment one that there’s more than meets the eye and when we get a ‘surprise’ reveal it’s more likely to elicit groans than shock.

It practically ends with Shyamalan staking a claim for creating the entire modern superhero genre; an outlandish claim that doesn’t quite land.

It’s well acted, well shot and tense but with a clunky script and slightly forced plot. It’s great to get these characters back but a shame it’s a film unworthy of its predecessors. Here’s hoping for a true twist ending the next time a Night feature hits our screens.

3 stars ***