The acclaimed 2019 film Glass is the third installment in an exciting superhero trilogy that already includes the equally popular films Unbreakable and Split; the film is also considered their overall sequel. At the center of the whole plot are three famous personalities of the superhero world: the telepath David Dunn, whose ability is manifested not only in invulnerability to physical violence, but also in the ability to see the most hidden sins of people with a simple touch to them; a genius with an exceptional memory and increased fragility of bones, Elijah Price, who calls himself Mr. Glass; as well as Kevin Wendell Crumb – a maniac who fits 23 personalities in his body.
It is the first hero of our trinity that appears before us at the very beginning of the film, fighting crime in the city with the help of his son and investigating the mysterious deeds of Kevin. Thanks to chance, David still finds the criminal, gets involved in a fight with him and practically wins, if not for the police. As a result of all this, they both end up in a psychiatric hospital, where Elijah Price is being treated under the supervision of a specialist in people who think they are superheroes – Dr. Ellie Staple. Elijah, having planned the escape plan, convinces Kevin, or more specifically, the Beast he awakened, to work with him. David, not happy with this idea, tries to stop them, as a result of which all three meet in a fierce fight right in the hospital yard. In the end, all three characters die brutally, but despite this outcome, Mr. Glass’s sophisticated plan comes to fruition: by hacking into the hospital’s security cameras and recording the entire heavy fight, he sends a video to the relatives of all three. Those, in turn, having received the recording, distribute it throughout the Internet, making it literally viral news.
Explanation and meaning of the film Glass
But what is the main meaning of such a tricky thriller and how exactly this film is connected with the previous two? Let’s figure it out. Firstly, it is worth paying special attention to talented acting, thanks to which we can fully feel the emotions of the characters and predict their further actions (which is a very difficult task for the viewer!), understand their intentions and attitude to the current situations. The actors managed to play their roles plausibly, make the viewer not only worry, but also be afraid, because the main characters are far from the most positive characters. The film itself does not continue the already known story, although the plot itself is large-scale and full of action. The fact is that it was in this film that they explained to us the history of creation, a kind of “birth” of three mysterious entities, people with supernatural abilities.
We were thrown back a few steps, but not to divert attention from the poorly developed plot, the bad acting, or the stupidity of the idea itself – not at all. We were moved not only along the plot, but also along the chronological line, in order to clarify all the previously unexplained moments of history and, so to speak, to clarify. It was thanks to this move by the director that we finally found out what events actually caused the characters to become like that, and saw the whole ins and outs of the characters. As it turned out from the ending, it was Elijah who organized the train crash, as a result of which David received, or rather developed, his abilities (but there is also an ambivalent opinion: it is unlikely that he could, through suggestion to himself, learn to see the sins of people only by touching them. But who knows what the human mind is capable of, right?). It turned out that not only our Invincible was the expected result of Glass’s disaster: Kevin’s father was also on that train and died in it. Due to the death of his father, Kevin was left alone with his inhuman and cruel mother, who mocked the poor boy, as a result of which he earned himself a dissociative identity disorder. If not for the catastrophe orchestrated by Elijah, Kevin’s father would have survived, and the boy, thereby, would have grown up completely healthy. But this was not part of the cunning plan of the great genius. There was also a typical comic book ending – a rather tragic death of a hero near his loved ones: after all, this is exactly how the main characters die.
“What power can a person’s faith contain in order to have abilities?” – this is the question that arises in the mind of the viewer after the stunning ending of the film. Despite the rather unexpected ending – the death of all three main characters, the film itself has a very open ending. The film ended the great trilogy, leaving a significant place for reflection and ideas (but only ideas) about the possible future outcome of events. The core message of Elijah’s idea, so desperate to make it happen, is that superheroes exist. They may not be what they are depicted in popular comics and what you yourself imagine them to be, but they are. And you can become a superhero only by the power of thought (we are not talking about telepathic ability now), because the most amazing and incredible ability of a person is self-hypnosis.
Write in the comments your meaning of the film Glass. We look forward to waiting!
