Split (2017) Review!!!

Synopsis – Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities, and must try and escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.

My Take – Writer-Director M. Night Shyamalan is a director who has had his fair share of ups and downs over his career. Making his debut with the Oscar nominated ‘The Sixth Sense’ followed by positively recieved films ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Signs’, films with such intricate character studies with a deep paranormal vibe in even the littlest of characters, he even created a reverse spoof effect whereby (ghosts, superheroes and alien invaders) naturally through playing some tongue-in-cheek are sometimes presented in high seriousness, through intense sometimes scary, anguished central performances from even the most established male film stars, and keeping the recurring theme of end of the reel twists which he associates through most of his films. He succeeded so well that there are even many signs of his success through some other director’s films especially the Shyamalan-esque twists. Unfortunately his career went a certain downhill due to a series of duds with ‘Lady In The Water’ , ‘The Village’ , ‘The Happening’ , ‘After Earth’ and was termed one of the worst directors of all time with the live action adaption of the controversial ‘The Last Airbender’. But, he made a decent comeback with 2015’s ‘The Visit’ which received generally positive reviews which signaled a renaissance for the auteur, with its genuinely frightening aesthetic, and even a decent Shyamalan twist! But, this horror/thriller is Shyamalan‘s true calling card to what hopefully is a far more fortuitous run of features. Using the disorder of DID (dissociative identity disorder), and a true story, to create its bonkers premise marking his return to ‘Night Classic’ mode.

The story follows Kevin (James McAvoy), a man suffering from DID, the result of which he possesses 23 distinct personalities, some of which are male and some of which are female, some of which are young, and some of which are old, some of which are homosexual and some of which are heterosexual, some of which have OCD or require insulin for diabetes, and some of which are really rather volatile and dangerous. Under the care of MPD specialist Dr Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), Kevin seems to be making good progress. But all is not as it seems. Dennis, one of the more evil of Kevin’s personalities, has kidnapped three teens – Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) – and is holding them captive in his home in preparation for the arrival for a 24th personality, the Beast. While Claire and Marcia are good friends, Casey is the wild-card in the pack: a moody and aloof teen that doesn’t fit in with the crowd. We see the abduction unfold largely through her intelligent and analytical eyes, with her experiences causing flashbacks to hunting trips in the woods as a five-year-old child with her father and uncle. Disagreements over how to work together to escape and the emergence of Dennis’ fellow “alters” keep them off balance, but when they do take action; their attempts to resist just make matters worse for them. With the obvious exception of their captive state, the girls are unharmed, but it becomes clear that something bad is about to happen. Here, he has made a film with an original concept, a compelling narrative and genuine tension which gradually builds. I wasn’t sure if the film would go beyond a typical kidnapping film in the first five minutes but I can assure you it’s completely different to any expectations you’ll have despite the director putting some of his more traditional touches on the film towards the end of it which really work in this case. I’ve always appreciated his earlier films on the fact that they often look at human conditions or flaws with imagination and even though some of his films have fallen short but he sounds like he’s become more open minded and enjoying his work returning to form so well here and all I can say is well done, he has great attention to detail and gives his all. While eventually serving a narrative purpose, in the early scenes, Shyamalan‘s switching to this doctor’s narrative grinds the film to something of a halt, leaving you longing for the far more interesting story to develop and ultimately resolve. That being said, the film never bores for a second, thanks to Shyamalan‘s distinctive style and an ominous score, as well as the brilliant performances. Shyamalan‘s writing and directing are great as the film is very suspenseful and clever, like any good psychological thriller should be. Shyamalan also masterfully places moments of humor throughout that doesn’t in anyway lessen the suspense of the film and actually adds to it. The film feels reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs with its setting and tone, to which Shyamalan has obviously used as inspiration, but has done so brilliantly. Now I know that there have been quite a few thrillers that make use of the Dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder (MPD) and that at this point there is very little that can be done to truly surprise you. But by god Shyamalan has succeeded in a way that will put you on the edge of your seat multiple times.

Not all the time mind you since the film dials down a few notches a couple of times. And this could make it seem the film drags here and there. In hindsight though it was Shyamalan teaching us what a master of horror he truly can be since he plays around with the tension to keep your interest peaked. Trust me on this that even when some of the plot developments may appear predictable it goes into different directions entirely. The tension is neatly built up to a feverish climax with a whole suite of cinematic tricks thrown in for good measure. Especially at the very end of the film since it gives us a twist that is so Meta that it will make your head spin, seriously very daring and incredibly effective. Like most Shyamalan films, the ending is the key. It either can either make or break the film, often due to Shyamalan ‘s love of a twist ending. Shyamalan‘s films always adhere to an over-used template in which the final twist of the knife is the whole selling point and he draws compelling characters and builds a grounded story to encompass it. If the film works, especially his early ones, the twist is the most memorable aspect that is seared into your brain. In his successful films, the twists always feel earned. With this film, Shyamalan doesn’t quite tread the same path (some of you may think the final scene has a OMG-WTF twist, but I see it more as a clever coda with a link to an earlier film). The conceit of films involving characters with multiple personality disorder is that the revelation of the mental illness is the eventual twist, with films like Psycho (1960), Dressed to Kill (1980) and Identity (2003) coming to mind. This film wisely stayed clear of the well-trodden path and is able to give us a different type of monstrosity, holding my attention throughout. This film couldn’t have worked without James McAvoy. If this sounds like an actor’s dream job, you’re right. With the opportunity to flex his acting muscles to the nth degree, all-accent-changing, mannerism-altering McAvoy rises to the challenge with a performance of breathtaking versatility. You can always tell who McAvoy is due to the slight facial expressions, mannerisms and tones of voice that he exhibits. He’s scary, creepy and will make you laugh at the same time. Each personality that he played felt distinct and completely different from the other. Some personalities were kind and sympathetic, while others were downright menacing and oozed filth. There were even scenes where McAvoy was playing a personality pretending to be a different personality, and as a whole his performance was brilliant. Anya Taylor-Joy is also pretty good in this film. She once again captivating in a role that doesn’t require much of her. The way Shyamalan deals with her character throughout the film is very well done, but due to the spoiler sensitive nature of psychological thrillers I’ll leave it there. Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula are fine in their respected roles, while Brad William Henke does well. M. Night Shyamalan has stated this to be his most challenging and longest film to date, kudos to him as this is one of those films that does a lot of things really good and has you singing praise right after. But of course there will always be people hating on this film just because Shyamalan is involved. He does tend to make films that require you to suspend disbelief and have somewhat of an imagination. Doesn’t always mean you have to like or agree with his vision because I am pretty aware he can make terrible films as well. Still this is certainly is one of his better ones and deserves to be watched by many. On the whole, ‘Split’ is a provocative, intense, well acted, spine-chilling psychological thriller that marks a triumphant return for a lost visionary.