by Chris DeLeon
M. Night Shyamalan has had some truly incredible films in the past. Sadly, he has had many more movies that could best be described as flops. Consequently, I was hopeful yet pensive when I went to see “Split,” his latest offering.
The film manages to create an uneasy feeling from the very first scene and carries this sensation throughout. Moving from uncomfortable interactions between popular teenage girls and their social outcast counterpart to kidnapping, “Split” keeps the audience feeling not quite right the entire time.
James McAvoy, well known for his portrayal of a young Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” series, stars as the antagonist. His character is a man named Kevin that is afflicted by Dissociative Identity Disorder, or as many of us might think of it, a split personality.
Kevin has a total of 24 personalities residing inside of him, but the movie only introduces a few that directly affect how the plot plays out. As different personalities take control of his body, subtle physiological differences become evident. For instance, one personality needs glasses, and another is diabetic. The limitations are genuine and exclusive to the personalities possessing them.
The diversity of personalities also includes a variety of genders, ages and sexualities. McAvoy turns in a dominant performance as he switches between personalities with ease. His acting allows the audience to suspend disbelief and accept each of his characters as a different person.
Split contains more dark themes than the mental illness that affects Kevin. There’s also references to rape, pedophilia, murder and cannibalism. Clearly, this is not a movie for children; something the family sitting next to me didn’t realize.
Even the film’s protagonist, named Casey and played by Anya Tailor-Joy, has a disturbing backstory. There are flashes to Casey’s childhood throughout the movie. At first, while they also have a general feeling of unease, their relevance to the plot is unclear. Eventually, however, it all ties together and makes sense.
One of the plagues that Shyamalan movies have become notorious for is the plot twist. At first, it was fun, but the twists have become expected, and even worse, predictable. This is where even movies that otherwise might have been good fizzle at the end.
With “Split,” Shyamalan seems to have learned his lesson. There was a small measure of time where I was concerned that he was going in the direction of an obvious twist that would have ruined the whole experience for me.
It turned out I was worried about nothing. “Split” held no real twist. It was just a deliciously dark movie from start to finish.
Without giving away the plot, I will mention one other aspect of the film that made my heart glow. Too many thriller films lose something when they tidy everything up in the end. Survivors live happily ever after and the world is full of butterflies and sunshine.
“Split” avoids that trap as well. Even when the credits begin to roll, there’s enough left unresolved that I was still feeling uneasy as I exited the theater. That’s precisely what I want out of a thriller. I wholeheartedly recommend seeing it.
