Split-2016

Director M. Night Shyamalan

Starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy

Scott’s Review #821

Reviewed October 18, 2018

Grade: B-

Split (2016) is the second part of a planned trilogy; the first is Unbreakable (2000), and the third is to debut in 2019.

This point confused me because I did not notice any correlation between the films until the final scene, which was unclear.

Split has its ups and downs, mainly because of James McAvoy’s spectacular performance, the highlight, but the film is sadly riddled with plot holes and nonsense.

I don’t think the film will be remembered for long.

Casey (Joy) is a withdrawn teenage girl with an abusive past at the hands of her uncle, who raised her after her father died. She, along with two other girls, is accosted by a man (McAvoy) who chloroforms them and takes them to a hidden basement.

The girls quickly learn that their abductor is Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

His personalities range from a nine-year-old child to an effeminate artist, a well-dressed woman, and Kevin.

The audience (but not the girls) learns that Kevin is in therapy with Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), an established Philadelphia psychiatrist. Fletcher knows about Kevin’s other personalities, including one called “The Beast.”

She assumes this is a fantasy superhero figure.

Karen slowly pieces together the frightening depth of Kevin’s disorder and must race against time to save the girls.

McAvoy, best known for his outstanding performances in The Last King of Scotland (2006) and Atonement (2007), is also a central figure in the X-Men film franchise (2011-2019). He knocks it out of the park.

What a challenging role (or roles!) for the handsome Scottish actor.  He is as convincing as the stoic, confident Kevin and brings the perfect swagger to “Patricia” and “Dennis.” Finally, he plays nine-year-old “Hedwig” with childhood innocence and insecurities.

McAvoy’s casting is a treat and a success.

How lovely to see film and television stalwart Betty Buckley back in the game with a central film role. The actress is a legend in other genres, not to mention her stage achievements, play after play.

Eagle-eyed horror fans will undoubtedly remember Buckley’s role as the sympathetic gym teacher in Carrie (1976).

In Split, she portrays another benevolent character, concerned for her patient’s well-being, unaware of the sinister sides he keeps hidden. The role is perfect for the warm Buckley.

Written, co-produced, and directed by the acclaimed M. Night Shyamalan, Split is no masterpiece like The Sixth Sense (1999) or even on par with The Village (2004).

Instead, the result is a peculiar, uneven effort; the fascination lies in McAvoy’s twenty-three different personalities, even though we see only four or five of them.

The film misses the numerous backstory scenes of Casey and her uncle hunting in the woods. These scenes slow the action and feel overly long. She was abused and can now handle herself- we get it.

The story could have conveyed this point in one scene.

The relationship between the three girls is okay, but the point about Casey being an outcast and different from the other two girls feels unnecessary and tacked on.

The final scene with Bruce Willis (as Dennis Dunn from Unbreakable) is a nice nod to the previous film, but it’s lost on anyone who hasn’t seen it since it premiered well over a decade ago.

The film should have featured more of a connection between the two stories.

In addition to McAvoy’s impressive performance, a positive is that no male characters are designed to “save the day,” which is still typical of mainstream films.

The film’s heroes are Casey (a teenage girl) and Karen (a woman in her sixties). Despite the story pieces not aligning, Split deserves credit for trying to be a more progressive-minded film.

The film’s result is fair to middling. Split (2016) is not a great effort but a decent watch.

The highlights are McAvoy, a worthy role for veteran Buckley, and some good tension and moments of good peril.

The story is not the highlight, and Shyamalan has made better films.