Split

Psychological dramatic films are intriguing in and of themselves, but when you add in a multiple personality slant to it, it suddenly gets more intriguing. We've seen some films with this theme: "The Three Faces of Eve" '57 with Joanne Woodward as the patient, TV film, "Sybil" '76 with Sally Field as the patient and Joanne Woodward as the doctor to mention a couple. So now we have "Split" in the offing to see what goes on in this patient's head.

 

An outing takes a sinister turn for three teenage friends, Casey, Claire and Marcia (Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley W. Richardson and Jessica Sula) respectively, when they are kidnapped by a ruthless stranger, Kevin Wendell Crumb/Dennis/Patricia/Hedwig/The Beast/Barry/ Orwell/Jade (James McAvoy) and imprisoned in his basement. They soon learn that their captor has multiple-personality disorder, forcing them to plot their escape without ever knowing which of his 23 personas--young or old, male or female, benign or monstrous--they will confront on the way out. As these girls are held captive, Kevin's 24th personality, "The Beast" begins to materialize. After obtaining 23 personalities, does Kevin really need a 24th or not? If he believes he does, for what reason would that be?

 

Others to round out the cast are Betty Buckley as Dr. Karen Fletcher, Kevin's doctor, Izzie Leigh Coffey as 5-year-old Casey, Brad William Henke as Uncle John, Sebastian Arcelus as Casey's father and Neal Huff as Mr.Benoit, as Claire's father.

 

This was creatively written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan ("Praying With Anger" '92, "Wide Awake" '98, "The Sixth Sense" '99, "Unbreakable" 2000, "Signs" '02, "The Village" '04, "Lady in the Water" '06, "The Happening" '08, "The Last Airbender" '10, "After Earth" '13, "The Visit" '15). This film has got to be the best thing he's created since "The Sixth Sense", because the incredible differences of personas exuding from Kevin was subtle, but at the same time incredibly individual. Even though having McAvoy in the lead role, the consummate actor that he is, this was truly amazing directing. Other than a couple of small slow areas in script, this screenplay rocked. It was cohesive, taught, and gripping and kept its audience on the edge of their seats. Shyamalan was way overdue for a solid, good film. I think the problem with this filmmaker is the fact that he is so original, but so original that he goes toward the bizarre and macabre that it turns people off. This film is quirky and original in its presentation, however it is still based in some sort of realism that its audience can have something to grasp a hold of. I didn't think Shyamalan was going to be able to produce a winning film since "The Sixth Sense" days, but he actually pulled it off and he did in spades. And what can I say about McAvoy? This guy is a phenomenal actor--this I knew, however this simply confirmed that opinion. The way he was able to invent each and every character with the difference it had was pure genius. Assuredly, this role is certainly meaty enough to be considered come Oscar time.

 

If you're a Shyamalan fan, you'll like this regardless of the quality, but this is a film that one would and could appreciate and respect for its creativity and amazing character development. Kudos to Shyamalan! 

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                Rated: PG-13                               117mins.