M. Night Shyamalan is doing what he does best, here; peculiar is very easily his strong suit. Split, the spin-off/sequel to 2000's Unbreakable, takes an unusual look at the power of the mind.
Anya Taylor-Joy costars as Casey Cooke, our quintessential troubled teen. We witness her abduction, along with two female classmates. At this point you have very little background information, and this forces the viewer to feel the confused helplessness of our three taken ladies. You were knocked out. You're in a room with no windows. The door is locked. You hear someone outside of that door. Before you can put it all together, the door opens.
Let's just say they're not at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
James McAvoy is versatile and impressive, lending very specific nuances to each identity looking for their time "in the light." Although his character - whose actual name is Kevin - is mentioned to have about 23(+ 1) personalities, they only interact with about a handful and that's enough. As the girls struggle to figure out what's going on and find a way out, you begin to meet the most dominant of the shady bunch: a 9-year-old boy, a sketch artist, a British woman, and a man who exhibits some form of OCD.
The mystery behind the girls' abduction, as well as Casey's own problematic upbringing, unravels as the clock ticks toward their intersection. The emergence of a new, spectacular identity is teased throughout the film. Kevin's main "alters" become increasingly unstable, and his therapist (Betty Buckley) has taken notice of his behavior. We do get a short glimpse of more identities, and again McAvoy's work here is great. Each one feels real and different.
By the climax, like most Shyamalan movies, we've reached full sci-fi territory. This isn't a complaint. He has a way of sucking you into his stories with mundane details and seemingly irrelevant dialogue. Next thing you know Bruce Willis realizes he's been dead the whole movie and Mel Gibson can kill aliens with water (or something like that). Split is no different that way, managing to tie it all together in the last twenty minutes. It feels a little rushed, but we learn that the payoff isn't exactly the climax of THIS movie.
If you have not seen Unbreakable, I recommend watching it soon after. Split is fine as a standalone film, but I think the mythos behind it all helps you understand what you're seeing. If you don't like having to think a little about your movies steer clear. If you do, you'll love the theories behind it. You may also develop a habit of saying "et cetera" in a weird voice, but that goes away in a few days.
iMDb: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Verdict: Maybe See That
Anya Taylor-Joy costars as Casey Cooke, our quintessential troubled teen. We witness her abduction, along with two female classmates. At this point you have very little background information, and this forces the viewer to feel the confused helplessness of our three taken ladies. You were knocked out. You're in a room with no windows. The door is locked. You hear someone outside of that door. Before you can put it all together, the door opens.
Let's just say they're not at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
James McAvoy is versatile and impressive, lending very specific nuances to each identity looking for their time "in the light." Although his character - whose actual name is Kevin - is mentioned to have about 23(+ 1) personalities, they only interact with about a handful and that's enough. As the girls struggle to figure out what's going on and find a way out, you begin to meet the most dominant of the shady bunch: a 9-year-old boy, a sketch artist, a British woman, and a man who exhibits some form of OCD.
The mystery behind the girls' abduction, as well as Casey's own problematic upbringing, unravels as the clock ticks toward their intersection. The emergence of a new, spectacular identity is teased throughout the film. Kevin's main "alters" become increasingly unstable, and his therapist (Betty Buckley) has taken notice of his behavior. We do get a short glimpse of more identities, and again McAvoy's work here is great. Each one feels real and different.
By the climax, like most Shyamalan movies, we've reached full sci-fi territory. This isn't a complaint. He has a way of sucking you into his stories with mundane details and seemingly irrelevant dialogue. Next thing you know Bruce Willis realizes he's been dead the whole movie and Mel Gibson can kill aliens with water (or something like that). Split is no different that way, managing to tie it all together in the last twenty minutes. It feels a little rushed, but we learn that the payoff isn't exactly the climax of THIS movie.
If you have not seen Unbreakable, I recommend watching it soon after. Split is fine as a standalone film, but I think the mythos behind it all helps you understand what you're seeing. If you don't like having to think a little about your movies steer clear. If you do, you'll love the theories behind it. You may also develop a habit of saying "et cetera" in a weird voice, but that goes away in a few days.
iMDb: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Verdict: Maybe See That