1hr 57min/117min.
3.5/4 Stars, Thumbs Up
"He's done awful things to people and he'll do awful things to you. I also have blue socks."
-Kevin(as Hedwig)(James McAvoy)
M. Night Shyamalan has had a wildly mixed career. 1999's "The Sixth Sense" was a tremendous ghost story. 2000's "Unbreakable" was a solid follow up film; an alternate superhero film unlike any other. 2002's "Signs" was his first misfire; a sloppy alien movie that a lot of people love and a lot hate. 2004's "The Village" and 2006's "Lady In The Water" were ambitious, but boring. 2008's "The Happening" was fun B-movie and 2010's "The Last Airbender", 2013's "After Earth" and 2015's "The Visit" were all terrible. Needless to say, there was a bit of intrigue and hesitation on my part when I first saw trailers for the film. There were ways that this could've gone bad. Shyamalan has had ambitious ideas that flopped, after all. I'm very happy to say that "Split" is an incredibly strong film and his first good film since 2000's "Unbreakable". It might have to do with the story, the writing, James McAvoy, or all three.
The first scene that's shown in the trailer is also the first scene shown in the movie. Three girls, Casey(Anya Taylor-Joy), Claire(Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia(Jessica Sula) are chloroformed and kidnapped by a mysterious man named Kevin(James McAvoy). Kevin has D.I.D.: Dissociative Identity Disorder. He has 23 different personalities coagulating inside his head. There's Barry, an outgoing artist and fashion snob; Dennis, a control freak with intense OCD; Hedwig, a nine year old boy; Patricia, a motherly figure; so on and so forth. Together, the personalities are known as "The Horde". These three girls have been under their watch for quite a while and are being kept as an offering for an unknown entity only known as "The Beast". Some personalities are more power-hungry than others, causing potential discord and confusion for the three girls whose lives are on the line.
What's interesting to note is that two stories are kind of going on back and forth. The main story and the other involving the backstory of Casey. Casey is a bit of a damaged figure, but details of this story are best left for audiences to discover on their own. It should be noted that the writing, particularly for a horror movie, is exceptionally top-notch. In a screenplay by Shyamalan himself, he treats Kevin as a very troubled being, rather than an outright monster. Sure, as the movie plays out, Kevin exhibits monstrous traits beyond his control, but still seems to feel sympathetic for him because it's out of his hands. The three girls are also well-developed humans, rather than caricatures. Some of the dialogue is very clunky, particularly in Claire and Marcia's lines, but that's the only detriment in an, otherwise, fine-tuned movie. Casey is a very three-dimensional character, her plight is the one that's followed the most out of the three girls; the screenplay giving unfounded layers rarely glimpsed onscreen.
Let's get to the real meat of the movie: James McAvoy. McAvoy is one of the most underrated actors currently working in film, today, and he gives a performance amazing beyond any words that I could write. In playing at least 6 different people(Barry, Dennis, Patrica, Kevin, Hedwig, Janice), he gives each one of these people their own distinctive traits. Barry seems to be the most reasonable out of them all, the one that seems to be at the forefront most of the time. Dennis is very strict, very stern and very controlling. If there's a tiny piece of dust on your shirt, he'll demand it to be removed so he can wash it. Patricia acts like a mother to the girls, feeding them and brushing their hair; it's almost as if she's the calm before the storm. Hedwig is a nine year old child, so when need be, McAvoy acts like he's nine; saying random things because he just thought of them, drawing whatever he feels like and dancing. McAvoy is so, so exceptional that the Academy, come next year, should keep an eye on his role in this when it comes time to announce nominees. Anya Taylor-Joy gives her best performance, yet(after 2016's "The Witch" and "Morgan") as Casey, a fragile girl caught at the forefront of the madness.
"Split" grips it's fist around the viewer's body and refuses to let up on it's vice-like grip. The entire time, the movie makes the heart pound and the hands grip even tighter on the armrest. The film has reinvigorated my faith in M. Night. It'll be interesting to see where he decides to go next; without giving anything away, the ending reveals what Shyamalan has been laying out all along and that ignites even more intrigue to see where he can go. In the middle of all of this is James McAvoy, giving an amazing performance and carrying the movie through multiple personalities, something that no actor has really done before. As a theater experience, it's wildly fun, but viewing it at home will be just as effective.
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