Split (B or 3/4 stars)
M. Night Shyamalan has a checkered cinematic past, to say the least. He burst onto the scene with his crazy plot twists in The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable & Signs. I was less enamored with The Village, The Last Airbender, & The Visit; though, they had some merits. But The Lady in the Water, The Happening, & After Earth really disappointed me. Now he's back - and in a good way - with 'Split', infusing a terrifying abduction story with psychology & a final scene (not twist) that connects with one other movie in the Shyamalan universe. 'Split' opens with psychologically-disturbed Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) school girls in a mall parking lot -- scary already! Imprisoned in a windowless subterranean bunker, his teen victims are petrified.
They include: popular girl Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), her BFF Marcia (Jessica Sula) & their forlorn classmate Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), a sullen loner whose disturbing back story is revealed in flashbacks. Unbeknownst to the girls, oddball Kevin goes to see his compassionate therapist, Dr. Fletcher (a stellar Betty Buckley), who realizes he has DID (dissociative identity disorder) & tries to communicate with his 23(!) personalities. And yet, he warns her of an encroaching 24th, 'The Beast', an all-powerful monster who might have an appetite for teen girls. While Claire & Marcia make desperate (and woeful) attempts to escape, Casey cautiously tries to deal with their menacing captor, particularly when his 'Hedwig' personality comes around: a 9 yr. old boy who feels threatened by his make-believe elders. Because when he inhabits the personality of dominant 'Dennis', proper 'Miss Patricia', or flamboyant fashionista 'Barry' ... they don't stand a chance. Mayhem ensues.
At 116 minutes {lengthy for a Shyamalan film}, 'Split' does contain more than a few ponderous sections. That said, on the whole, 'Split' is quite the tense, satisfying little psychodrama. Though the film is creepy & suggests many horrors, it is refreshingly lacking in brutality/gore {only a few dollops, really}. Shyamalan creates a palpable atmosphere; his sinister underground lair containing long corridors, dingy doors & rusty pipes. His writing is subtler here than in many of his prior efforts. Best of all, though, are his 2 leads: doe-eyed Anya Taylor-Joy (SO good in last yr.'s The VVitch) & the always exciting James McAvoy. Taylor-Joy has a wonderfully ethereal presence. We're as scared as she is, but given the usual horror cliches of female heroines, we find that she's no dummy, here.
As for McAvoy, well, though he's proven himself in popular dramas like Atonement & blockbuster hits like X-Men & Wanted, I think his Kevin Wendell Crumb is one his crowning achievements; ably conveying a plethora of deliciously over-the-top personalities with haunting clarity. Each facade he shows contains subtle differences in posture, demeanor & voice inflection -- and he practically bursts through the screen in his final act transformation. It's just a stunning performance & one that makes 'Split' watchable through some of the inane/slower spots. I also thought that Betty Buckley gives a great little performance as Kevin's too-keen therapist. Again, 'Split' is not a perfect movie. Any attempt at an escape (from 2 of the 3 captors) is eye-rollingly stereotypical. The narrative is choppy, at times. And the sort of non-ending might irk those who don't understand the ramifications of the final scene. But overall, it's great to have Shyamalan back in a big hit. And in the cinematically dismal month of January, it's nice to actually enjoy a 'good' psychodrama/thriller - however you want to classify it.
They include: popular girl Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), her BFF Marcia (Jessica Sula) & their forlorn classmate Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), a sullen loner whose disturbing back story is revealed in flashbacks. Unbeknownst to the girls, oddball Kevin goes to see his compassionate therapist, Dr. Fletcher (a stellar Betty Buckley), who realizes he has DID (dissociative identity disorder) & tries to communicate with his 23(!) personalities. And yet, he warns her of an encroaching 24th, 'The Beast', an all-powerful monster who might have an appetite for teen girls. While Claire & Marcia make desperate (and woeful) attempts to escape, Casey cautiously tries to deal with their menacing captor, particularly when his 'Hedwig' personality comes around: a 9 yr. old boy who feels threatened by his make-believe elders. Because when he inhabits the personality of dominant 'Dennis', proper 'Miss Patricia', or flamboyant fashionista 'Barry' ... they don't stand a chance. Mayhem ensues.
At 116 minutes {lengthy for a Shyamalan film}, 'Split' does contain more than a few ponderous sections. That said, on the whole, 'Split' is quite the tense, satisfying little psychodrama. Though the film is creepy & suggests many horrors, it is refreshingly lacking in brutality/gore {only a few dollops, really}. Shyamalan creates a palpable atmosphere; his sinister underground lair containing long corridors, dingy doors & rusty pipes. His writing is subtler here than in many of his prior efforts. Best of all, though, are his 2 leads: doe-eyed Anya Taylor-Joy (SO good in last yr.'s The VVitch) & the always exciting James McAvoy. Taylor-Joy has a wonderfully ethereal presence. We're as scared as she is, but given the usual horror cliches of female heroines, we find that she's no dummy, here.
As for McAvoy, well, though he's proven himself in popular dramas like Atonement & blockbuster hits like X-Men & Wanted, I think his Kevin Wendell Crumb is one his crowning achievements; ably conveying a plethora of deliciously over-the-top personalities with haunting clarity. Each facade he shows contains subtle differences in posture, demeanor & voice inflection -- and he practically bursts through the screen in his final act transformation. It's just a stunning performance & one that makes 'Split' watchable through some of the inane/slower spots. I also thought that Betty Buckley gives a great little performance as Kevin's too-keen therapist. Again, 'Split' is not a perfect movie. Any attempt at an escape (from 2 of the 3 captors) is eye-rollingly stereotypical. The narrative is choppy, at times. And the sort of non-ending might irk those who don't understand the ramifications of the final scene. But overall, it's great to have Shyamalan back in a big hit. And in the cinematically dismal month of January, it's nice to actually enjoy a 'good' psychodrama/thriller - however you want to classify it.