“Umbraree” is a Shyamalan movie! Throw away your preconceptions and believe in what you're seeing now! ※note! Contains spoilers.

Shyamalan's biggest weapon that critics didn't understand

One of the misfortunes that befell Umbraree was the lack of understanding from critics. I have only interviewed Shyamalan once, but he told me about an experience he had while attending a conference related to the Golden Globe Awards.

In Umbraree, there is a scene in which David's son Joseph, who believes that David is an immortal hero, takes out a gun and points it at David to find out the truth. David and his wife Audrey frantically chastise Joseph. If the line, ``Don't shoot! If you shoot, my father will leave!'' is funny, and Joseph's refusal to say, ``Just one shot...'' is another funny and famous scene.

"Umbraree" (c) Photofest / Getty Images

However, critics at the conference picked up on this scene and said, ``The audience was laughing, but wasn't it a mistake to get people laughing in a thriller?'' From Shyamalan's point of view, he did exactly what he had hoped to do: thrill the audience, but because he was labeled as a ``thriller director'', his funny scenes were slandered for being funny.

By the way, this scene is said to be based on a reminiscence told by George Reeves, who gained popularity by starring in the 1950s TV version of Superman. A child fan believed Reeves was the real Superman and aimed a gun at him to confirm his invulnerability. Reeves reportedly advised him, ``It's true that I'm immortal, but if you shoot yourself, the bullet will ricochet and the people around you are in danger, so don't shoot.''

This story is somewhat of an urban legend, and it is unclear whether it actually happened, but it was included as an episode in the Reeves biopic Hollywoodland (2006). Shyamalan also used the line, ``It's dangerous because bullets ricochet,'' so there's no doubt that he had Reeves in mind.

"Hollywoodland" preview

Shyamalan's desire to bring humor to this scene is also reflected in the costumes worn by Robin Wright, who plays Audrey. Wright is wearing a green sleeveless shirt that matches David's theme color, but if you look closely, you'll see that Hokanji, a tourist attraction in Kyoto known as the Yasaka Tower, is printed on it.

If we analyze it seriously, in the scene in question, Audrey has just decided to mend her relationship with her husband David, with whom she had a falling out, so perhaps she pulls out a souvenir shirt she bought when the couple traveled to Japan. Maybe it was. However, whether or not there is such a background setting, in an emergency situation where an elementary school child brings out a gun and her husband's life is in danger, Audrey, who is otherwise chicly dressed, is seen wearing a temple-print shirt in other scenes. The strangeness of the painting cannot be anything other than intentional.

Shyamalan has this kind of insidious sense of humor, and you never know when he's going to throw in some off- the-Umbraree tidbits, not just in Unbreakable. This thrilling sense of humor is the main factor that makes Shyamalan's films unique.

Shyamalan's world combines thrills and laughter