Split (2017)
Ari Drew
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Starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Screened at Fantastic Fest 2016
Over the past few years alone, Fantastic Fest’s secret screening slots have boasted advanced previews of major and subversive horror releases alike, including The Green Inferno, Goodnight Mommy, and, most recently, Crimson Peak. While the identity of the secret films being screened have often historically been leaked in some way prior to their premieres, this year’s secret screening was kept surprisingly under wraps all the way up until it actually began to play for audiences. Needless to say, viewers were certainly surprised to see that the world premiere film was M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, a movie that was only finished up in the last few weeks.
Split tells the story of a man named Kevin (McAvoy), who suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID, aka multiple personality disorder) and is host to 23 different personalities. Compelled by unclear motivations, Kevin abducts three young girls (played by Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, and Jessica Sula) following a birthday party and keeps them in what appears to be a bunker of sorts. As the girls attempt to makes sense of what is going on and why they are being kept alive, it becomes very clear that there is a war waging among a handful of Kevin’s identities, stirred up by the potential materialization of a 24th personality referred to as “The Beast.”
With last year’s The Visit earning Shyamalan his best reviews from critics and many viewers alike in over a decade, horror fans seem to be cautiously optimistic about the director’s recent turn… and for good reason. The Visit successfully reintroduced us to a Shyamalan that is inventive, quirky, and a little bit intense; and Split continues the trend in this new filmmaking era for the director.
It should be noted upfront that Split is not particularly scary and will likely disappoint those approaching it expecting terrifying imagery or even blood-pumping action. (At this point I think many of us have learned that approaching any of Shyamalan’s films with pre-established expectations is bound to lead to disappointment in a post-Signs world.) Where The Visit aimed to unnerve and even baffle through its utilization of various genre-bending elements, Split is, for the most part, a straightforward psychological thriller that is focused more on the increasingly dangerous internal conflict among Kevin’s personalities–at least until its rather fantastical-leaning climax.
This contained narrative setup lends itself to a rather different approach for the director that works well to establish an environment of inescapable danger for both Kevin and the abducted girls in the bunker. Shyamalan heightens this sense by putting a creative spin on the concepts behind DID, a disorder whose existence is hotly debated and whose history is highly intriguing all on its own.
Though Shyamalan nails the tone here, he falters occasionally with Split’s script. Segments of the film are unevenly paced, and the director dedicates far too much time to Buckley’s Dr. Fletcher and explaining the more clinical aspects of DID. This is a particularly odd decision, considering that Taylor-Joy’s Casey is a far more intriguing character early on and is even given her own backstory that is meant to lead to a pivotal moment in the film’s finale. That the film is almost two hours long makes this fact even further confounding, and we never quite get to know much more about the abducted girls here because of it, which is a shame. The sidelining of these characters may have been more forgivable if Casey’s backstory had a more resonant effect when all was said and done, and it would have been nice to see Shyamalan attempt to weave her emotional threads into Kevin’s story more actively.
When all is said and done, however, there is no denying that Split is meant to function as a vehicle for McAvoy to showcase his diverse acting chops, something he does with glee in every scene as he maneuvers chiefly through the personalities of a playful 9-year-old boy, a British matriarch figure, and a fashion designer, among others. McAvoy is truly the driving force of Split, and even the sections of the film that lag some are brightened by his electrifying performance. There are some moments of heightened intensity towards the end that may elicit some unintended chuckles from the audience in regard to McAvoy’s delivery, but ultimately Split is elevated to better than average fare thanks to his magnetic turn here.
All in all, Split doesn’t completely reinvent the wheel, but it is a solid effort that continues to solidify Shyamalan’s slow, but sure return to form in the genre. McAvoy’s turn as Kevin will surely be the talking point among audiences, and Split is worth catching for this alone. As an added bonus, the stinger following the film’s finale might even serve in changing an audience’s appraisal of the film as a whole; it definitely had the Fantastic Fest audience whooping with enjoyment, as it seemingly hints at potentially big plans for the director’s future.
As long as Shyamalan keeps genuinely challenging himself stylistically and narratively, I will most definitely continue to take the ride—leaving expectations at the door, of course.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
