Split
I was late to the game finally watching M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split,” so much so that I had almost forgotten that the end revealed it to be a stealth sequel to “Unbreakable,” thus setting up Shyamalan’s superhero world even further. Even without that connection, though, “Split” is an effective and compelling psychological thriller about three young women kidnapped by a man with profound mental issues, and a strange way in which they manifest and become something more. Calling it a full-tilt return to form for Shyamalan would be an overstatement, however; the “Sixth Sense” and “Signs” filmmaker is still not entirely in control of his storytelling choices.
“Split” was criticized when it was released for perpetuating the long-standing stigma of the mentally ill as inherently violent in its main character, Kevin (played by James McAvoy), who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. While that is certainly a valid criticism if the film were to be a serious psychological study, great psychological thrillers, a genre meant more for entertainment value, have always dealt in pop psychology, and it’s more how the filmmaker uses the core ideas to their own devices more than how it illuminates us on real psychological issues, although accuracy can certainly aide in the effort. All that being said, I think some of the criticism was unfounded towards Shyamalan, as his portrayal of Kevin, even when one of his 23 personalities has taken control, is ultimately sympathetic more than malicious, and we are drawn in by the way McAvoy creates a fully-realized character throughout, even as he switches from one personality to another.
One thing I don’t know that worked as I watched “Split” again were the scenes with Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), Kevin’s psychiatrist, during sessions. While important for the sake of exposition, they serve little to no purpose beyond that, and I was considerably more engaged with what we were watching where Kevin is holding Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula), and watching as they have to deal with the revolving door of personalities, in particular, no-nonsense Dennis; dominating Patricia; and a child, Hedwig, with whom Casey makes some headway with. Exposition is certainly an important part of this story, but I wish Shyamalan had been able to find a more elegant way to get it into the film than what he does here, especially given how well he orchestrated things in “Unbreakable.”
“Split” rises and falls on the kidnapping thriller at its center, and the challenges Kevin’s persona presents to the girls, and when it’s at its best in these moments, it’s on par with the best filmmaking that Shyamalan has made. McAvoy is fantastic at juggling the different personalities, making them seem believable and plausible while also being suitably chilling for a horror movie antagonist. As the kidnapped teens, Richardson and Sula take a backseat to Taylor-Joy, whose outsider character (she was a “mercy invite” to Claire’s birthday party) has some emotional baggage herself that makes her a formidable opposite against the personalities of Kevin that show themselves throughout the film. She is terrific, and it will be interesting to see how she is brought into the action in “Glass.”
After hitting some creative lows with “The Last Airbender,” “After Earth” and “Lady in the Water,” Shyamalan seems to have rejuvenated himself under the watchful eye of Jason Blum with “Split” and “The Visit.” Hopefully, the creativity that allowed him to finally realize his vision of Kevin- who was once a character in “Unbreakable” before he shelved him- will continue as he brings a close to his universe of remarkable individuals, and tells more stories in the coming years.
