Review of Split (2017) by Zhuwangp — 27 Apr 2017

When we talk about M. Night Shyamalan, most people think about sixth sense. Others think about Lady in the Water or The Happening. I think Split has a little bit of both. It has the quality from Sixth Sense and the humor (internationally this time) from The Happening. The plot is about a guy who has multiple personality disorder kidnapped three girls and plans to sacrifice to “the beast”. This is as much as I can say without spoiling the plot. The less said the better about the plot. There is also a psychiatrist who is played by the crazy old lady in The Happening, who is trying to figure out the nature of the guy’s condition… ya there is a lot going on.

I think what makes this movie stands out is the amazing performance from James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy. For me, a good movie should have some characters I care about and this movie have it. McAvoy’s performance can be categorized as over the top which reminds me of Paul Giamatti in Lady in the Water. But here it works. His character feels funny at first and then gradually it started to be downright creepy. I think the best thing about his performance is that every personality feels almost realistic. The scariest one is his lady personality. You almost feel like he is actually transgender. His calm and almost unnerving attitudes to the kidnapped girls is creeping me out. There is no action and no over-the-top emotion but there is something there that makes whole tension unbearable. You never know what he is going to do next. Bottom line: James McAvoy will make you forget everything about the roles he played before. Taylor-Joy’s character is someone you are worth to root for. She had a really messed up childhood which is described throughout the film. She is the victim even before the kidnapping and you sympathize what she has been through. She is trying to escape smartly and tried to gain the trusts James McAvoy’s character. She is extremely successful in making a very understandable character and she is perfect for someone who you want to root for. Considering she is a model before acting, I think she did pretty great and I hope to see her in more roles. I love the execution of the film. The setting looks very rough and reminds me of those rooms you saw in cheap B-movies. It gives you a feeling of cluster phobia and you feel like you are being trapped in a basement and there is no stairs and doors that you can escape. It gives you sense of dread and despair. However, the big problem comes from the middle. They spent way too much time explaining how did the split personality happens, which (I won’t spoil) is really stupid, you know like all the M Night films. Most importantly all the other characters are not interesting enough, especially the other two girls kidnapped, their acting were terrible. But the third act saved the entire movie. This is one of the best nail bitter horror scene I have seen in recent year. No jump scare and no other scary stereotypes, it just pure scare. The music and the lighting emphasize the unbearable tension and you are always on your seat. In the end, this is one of the best M Night Sharmalan movie. It is a very enjoyable and tense movie but not without its flaws.