Split - movie review
Split
Plot: 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.
Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Certificate: 15 (sustained threat, abduction theme)
Runtime: 1hr 57 mins
Release Date: Friday 20th January 2017
If there is someone who has experienced Hollywood at his highest high but also his lowest low, it's M. Night Shyamalan. He was the mind behind the beloved Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs but he was also the mind behind the hated Village, Lady In The Water, Last Airbender and After Earth. Safe to say his career took a bit of a dip. However, in 2015, Shyamalan teamed up with the new horror masters that are Blumhouse and thus made The Visit which seemed to put the once much respected director back on track. It seemed that this was the beginning of the Shyamalanssance (if that's even a word). Then, when Split was announced and the synopsis was released followed by some great trailers, Shyamalan had seemingly put all of his misfortune behind him. At least that's what I thought.
Sue me. I'm not a fan of Split. Whilst it seems like everyone else is with it making records at the box office and scoring high with audience ratings, many elements of Split didn't sit right with me. That being said, one thing that I think everyone who sees this film can be in agreement of, is James McAvoy's performance. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months whilst Split has been in full force with its advertising, McAvoy plays the central character of Kevin. What makes Kevin extra special is that McAvoy rarely appears as Kevin. Instead, Kevin suffers from a multiple personality disorder. Usually we hear cases of two, maybe three different personalities but in Kevin's case, he has twenty-three and every single one of them is vastly different. For any actor, this is the cinematic equivalent of finding El Dorado. McAvoy must have been bursting at the seams to play a character with this issue and he absolutely nails every character we see. Sadly, we are never introduced to all 23 characters. We roughly meet about four or five in total which at first, did feel underwhelming because the possibility of never truly knowing who McAvoy was would have made for such an alluring mystery but that by no means hinders those characters he depicts. The first of his characters that we are introduced to is Dennis, a highly efficient, OCD suffering kleptomaniac who claims to be preparing his newly captured hostages for something grand. Dennis is easily angered and follows the strictest of rules to ensure everything goes as planned. If I were to be kidnapped, he certainly wouldn't be my preferred kidnapper. Of course I'd rather not be kidnapped in the first place but, you know, try to make the best of a bad scenario.
His second most featured character is Patricia, an elderly lady with very sinister intentions. She's the character that unsettled me the most because her calm nature seems worryingly out of place given the circumstances. Other characters that McAvoy brings to life are Hedwig (a nine year old boy) and eventually, the prophesied Beast. Hedwig is adorable and is the main source of comedy but The Beast had me 'split' (see what I did there?) in regards to McAvoy's performance and the actual execution. As The Beast, McAvoy gives a highly complex and unrelenting physical performance that, if it weren't for the high calibre of performances already this year, would be worthy of award nominations. My issue with this specific personality is that it's inclusion into the story vastly altered the tone and feel. Ultimately, this film belongs to McAvoy. It's truly a showcase for him to take characterisation to a level that has yet to be unearthed. Whilst McAvoy arguably gives the performance of his career, the girls he kidnaps do admirably also. Anya Taylor-Joy is easily the strongest of the trio as the outcast of the group but she still continues to prove herself as an actress to watch come the future. Her character may have a little too convenient past but her performance is astounding. Unfortunately, the other two girls, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula are out-acted by their co-star's. Their performances would likely be commended if McAvoy and Taylor-Joy weren't as good as they were but at the end of the day, as an actor, use your fellow actors commitment and feed off of it to further your own performance. There's also one final character in the shape of Betty Buckley, Kevin's therapist. Her role in the film is almost bordering on annoyance because apart from two instances, her scenes are devoted to providing exposition for Kevin's condition.
FACT: James McAvoy broke his hand during production. He decided not to tell anyone and continued to shoot for two days before finally going to a hospital.
I will say this about Shyamalan - he makes amazing looking films, even the terrible ones. Split is still no exception as the cinematography is very impressive to mask the personality changes that Kevin experiences. Where Split suffers is its story. Despite having a goldmine in potentiality, personally, I believe Shyamalan played it too safe. Part of the blame has to be put on my own expectations because upon knowing Split was about a kidnap story with a guy suffering from multiple personality disorder, I immediately expected a high-octane thrill ride and in the end, Split moves at a slower pace than I had originally thought and sadly, needed. There were many times in Split where I became bored because the action onscreen started to struggle with repetitiveness and also, many moments that could have been altered to ramp up the tension were eventually swapped for a comedic moment or resulted in an anti-climax. For the first two acts, Split never sunk its hooks into me. It tried to but it came off more like a scratch. Then, aside from the kidnap plot and the prophecy of the Beast, the audience are shown small snippets of Casey's (Anya Taylor-Joy) history and reveals why she behaves the way she does. It's uncomfortable to watch (in a good way) but in the long run, it's pointless. Her history allows us to understand her character a fraction more but it could have all been solved with a couple of revelations that Casey herself explains rather than elongated flashbacks that drag the pace even more.
So the first and second acts were underwhelming but I was hoping that when the Beast takes control and the inevitable Shyamalan twist arrives, it could all be worth it. In some ways, my response to that would be yes and no. No, the film didn't really improve in quality but yes, the twist was effective. Silly is the appropriate word to describe Split's final act. If you have enjoyed the film up until that point, then perhaps it won't bother you but considering I was never on-board to begin with, the reveal of the Beast switches tone completely and throws logic out of the window as it basically becomes a monster movie just without any special effects. Obviously, to save you from the horror that are movie spoilers, the twist shall remain a secret in this review but it is something that you won't expect. It is effective and surprisingly, excites me as to where Shyamalan can go from here but the reason that it doesn't save the film for me is that when the twist comes, the frustration and unenjoyable sensations I felt during Split's finale did not diminish. Yes, the twist may have filled in some gaps and answer questions that at first seemed unrealistic but the problem still remains. Issues that I had with this film were not solved by the impressive twist. Allow me to explain it in an analogy. Imagine you're at a restaurant and you order a burger. The waiter gives you your burger but it's awful and undercooked. So, instead of getting you a better cooked burger, you're left with really tasty chips but you still have to pay for the whole meal. Ultimately, Split is a serviceable side dish but lacking what's needed for a main course.
If anyone's reading this thinking that Shyamalan is doomed, don't panic. Like all reviews, it's all down to personal preference and Split is by no means on the level of Shyamalan's multiple wrecks but it is a bump in what I thought would be his sensational climb back to the top. On the bright side, McAvoy just earned himself a gigantic amount of recognition and respect for his ability to play the demanding roles he does. I'm not sure if I could listen to Kanye again though after Hedwig's dance. Unique to say the least.
My Verdict: 5.5/10
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