Split

Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Izzie Coffey, Brad William Henke, Bruce Willis (uncredited)
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror, Thriller
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (James McAvoy) with 23 different split personalities kidnaps three women.

Review:

Tim: I'm fairly shocked by how much I enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan's Split. I know Shyamalan is an easy target in recent years. By my account, he's directed 2 great movies, 2 good movies, 4 decent movies, and 2 terrible movies. He's all over the map, but as a whole body of work, that's not very good. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I'd add Split to the great movie list. This is an effective, exciting thriller that both stands on its own while also connecting to a previous movie. It's certain a much-needed success for Shyamalan.

The premise is just super cool. A guy with 23 split personalities abducts three women. They interact with several of these different personalities- some could help them, some want them to stay imprisoned, some are ambivalent. It makes for a fascinating story to see how they try to play the different personalities to eventually secure their freedom. It's a story that is intelligent enough to engage the audience and different enough to feel fresh and unique. I found myself intrigued and interested in what was happening on screen. I cared about the characters and was excited to see their story through.

Now, the true differentiator here is James McAvoy. The script was really solid, but you needed the right actor to play the role of a seriously mentally ill man. He had to be believable as multiple different characters, including women and children. McAvoy hits a home run with his performance. He's always been an underrated actor, but he really put on a show here. Seeing the range that he had and most importantly, making all these characters seem believable as they inhabited one body- that was incredible. His performance is truly what elevates this film from good to great. He is fantastic. Luckily, he had some great help. Anya Taylor-Joy was really good as one of the captives. I expect big things from her in her career. I also liked Haley Lu Richardson- she's impressed me in the few roles I've seen of her so far. Jessica Sula was a step down from Taylor-Joy and Richardson, but I'm not sure if that was more the writing or more her acting. Betty Buckley gave a terrific supporting performance. I really did enjoy the cast very much.

When Shyamalan is at his best, he's telling an interesting, unexpected story with characters we like and root for. He did that with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. He does that again here. We're fascinated by the split personalities, but we want the kidnapped women to live. That right there is enough for a really solid movie, but it's the whole thing about The Beast that makes this something special. As cool as everything I've described so far was, it is the idea of a 24th personality, The Beast that made me sit up in my chair and say "Whaaaat?" I was so intrigued, so curious to see how this part of the story would unfold. It does venture into the sci-fi/fantasy realm, but I was so down for that. That mystery was great fun to unravel and it made this movie feel totally different than what we're used to seeing. I loved that aspect of the film.

I should mention there is an extremely cool twist at the very end of the film. It's not the kind of twist Shyamalan used to do, but it paints this movie in a completely different light. The funny thing is- this movie would have been great even without that connective twist. This is a movie that stands on its own. Regardless of that cool twist, this movie worked by itself. That's so important. The twist is simply the cherry on top, the final touch that helps you realize Shyamalan created something special here- and it makes you so impatient for the sequel.

I didn't expect to like Split as much as I did. Even though I heard great things, the movie had to prove itself to me (like they all do). This one did. I'm not ready to anoint Shyamalan as "back" because he's made too many not-good movies. However, this movie was a reminder of the talent he has and the kind of director we all hope he'll continue to be. I hope this is the new norm, but at this point, it feels so good to be excited about a Shyamalan movie again.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Unbreakable, Signs, The Sixth Sense, The Village