Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Spotted: Robin Wright Penn

Her hair is mousy brown, if you can believe it, and her wardrobe is stapled by sloppy T-shirts, but it's still the lovely Robin Wright Penn, our own original Kelly Capwell of "Santa Barbara." Just as unmistakable are the slow pacing and spookiness of an M. Night Shyamalan film: If you didn't know it at the beginning of 2000's "Unbreakable," you certainly would by the end of the movie, especially with the filmmaker's trademark ending "big reveal."

In the flick, Penn is Audrey Dunn, the wife of Bruce Willis' seemingly invincible character, David Dunn. His sole survival from a deadly train crash causes a little soul searching: He can't recall ever being sick, and he knows he's scarcely been injured. There's no explanation for his invulnerability. His profession, irconially, is working security at an arena. Almost as ironic is Audrey's profession: physical rehab. Along the way, they encounter -- and are even downright haunted by -- Samuel L. Jackson's character, Elijah Price. Elijah has quite the different problem -- he becomes ill or breaks a bone at the slightest provocation. He has a theory for David, one that's hidden from us throughout the film, but David isn't interested.

On the sidelines, mostly, but once in a while chewing up her own scene, is Penn. She's quiet and patient, masking for the most part any bewilderment. And because this is an M. Night Shyamalan film, there's a whole lotta meaningful silence and deliberation.

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