In what can be described as a ‘curve ball’ rarely seen in superhero films, M. Night Shyamalan’s introspective superhero-esque action thriller ‘Glass’ shatters cinematic conventions by brilliantly closing off the director’s very own ‘comic book’ trilogy with an origin story.
But the film isn’t about the origin of any one superhuman figure in Shyamalan’s superhero universe; rather it’s an origin tale about the revelation of man’s ultimate truth. The truth that the human race can in fact surpass their own limitations and perceptions of normality that have seeped into their very history and culture in order to indulge in something far greater inside them – a ‘superpower’ if you will.
‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Split’ weren’t really origin stories in Shyamalan’s mind – they were more like seeds, planted in the cinematic ether along with their own separate narratives and themes but both preferring to let the real truth about their super-powered existence linger away from the public spotlight.
By the time the credits roll in ‘Glass’, you realise that the film finally wants to show world that we’re indeed all living in a comic book, which is why the film is truly about the origins of our discovery of the truth about what we’re able to achieve beyond our norms through the examples of ‘superheroes’ and ‘supervillains’ like David Dunn, Elijah Price and Kevin who we see in action in the film.
Shattering the mirror of shadows and deceit that has blinded the rest of the world for so long, ‘Glass’ marks the triumphant beginning of the truth about superheroes finally being able to realistically flourish in the light.
Titan Passions 