Having directed a variety of either solid or horrible movies (Signs, The Last Airbender), M. Night Shyamalan has proven to be one of Hollywood's most inconsistent directors. During his minor return as director, Shyamalan delivered a mediocre flick, The Visit, and it was a small step forward. In early 2016, Split was announced and the trailer eventually released. It looked great and It seemed as if Shyamalan had it all figured out.
Split is a movie that centers around Kevin Crumb (James McAvoy) and his bizarre 23 different personalities. However the audience only sees about 6 of his "characters." This movie has 2 different plots, one plot being about a man who kidnaps 3 "pure" girls and the other plot being about a man who struggles to fit in in the harsh society that he lives in. Throughout the movie, it is evident that Kevin begins to struggle while trying to contain the personalities that live inside of him. Eventually, the much larger and more dominant personality, The Beast, appears.
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For the first two acts, Split was a very interesting and smart movie. I was intrigued with the concept and wanted to find out more about the personality disorder. The movie was good up until the third act. The third act of a movie is supposed to either ruin it or improve it. Lucky for Split, the third act doesn't fully ruin the movie, but only regresses the quality of it. I like some of M. Night's movies because they have amazing concepts and very cynical plots, but I hate the fact that he feels the need to include a twist during the third act of literally every movie that he makes. Split began as a very grounded and realistic movie that slowly turned into a bizarre monster movie. Although the monster concept was not terrible, it just didn't connect with me.
James McAvoy was the best part of Split. He stated that he was cast 2 weeks before production had begun. That being said, he delivers one of the best performances I have ever seen. He portrays 6 different personalities on screen and each one felt different than the other. He was hilarious in his interpretation of Hedwig. McAvoy was also super creepy while portraying one of "The Hord's" leaders, Dennis. From his first scene up until his last, it was clear that McAvoy is going to be nominated for best actor.
Anya Taylor-Joy portrays Casey Cook, and she is great as well. Like always, she performs to the best of her abilities and does well with what she is given. I really enjoyed her time on screen and also sympathized with her her troubled character. It was clear that this role was written just for her because she also delivers her best performance yet.
In the end, Split had the potential to be a phenomenal psychological thriller, but didn't quite get there. It wanted to be too many things (Horror, Drama, Thriller, Comic Book-Based). James McAvoy carries the weight of this flick on his shoulders and saves it from its demise. I will most likely watch this movie again before it departs from the theaters because I enjoyed 1 hour and 30 minutes of the 1 hour and 57 minute run-time. This movie will not be for everyone, but McAvoy is a treat to watch on the big screen, so I recommend it anyway.
Verdict: Solid - 3.5/5 (70%)
