Split

photo courtesy of geekadelphia.com

CAUTION: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS

     Split is M. Night Shyamalan’s latest effort in what may be something of a revival for the director. Shyamalan previously made waves with his classic thriller, Sixth Sense (1999) and cult favorite Unbreakable (2000), but then had something of a dry spell culminating in the critically bashed Avatar: The Last Airbender (2010). Of late, the director has created smaller, more tightly focused films that take him back to his horror roots: namely 2015’s slightly bizarre but enjoyable The Visit.

     Split has a lot of interesting ideas to offer. In conception, it seems like a worthy follow-up to The Visit. But unfortunately, what makes an exciting premise leads to a disappointing final product—surprisingly devoid of excitement and thrills.

photo courtesy of splitmovie.com

     The film follows Kendall Crumb (James McAvoy), whose many personalities are at war with one another. In anticipation of the arrival of a new, dominant personality called the Beast, Crumb kidnaps Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) and two other girls to use as sacrifices. We watch a duel struggle unfold: Casey attempting to outmaneuver Kendall and escape, and therapist Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley) struggling to call the good side of Kendall to the forefront before it’s too late.

     For the most part, it’s a well-executed movie from a technical standpoint. It has an eerie aesthetic, and despite its constant shifting between alternate settings, its pacing reflects the command of a master of suspense. There are also some genuine scares sprinkled into the mix.

photo courtesy of comingsoon.net

     James McAvoy is the shining star of the film. He plays not one, not two, but 23 different characters, all of whom are alternate personalities inside of one man, Kendall Crumb. Granted, these personalities are so defined by stereotype and exaggeration that the performance isn’t exactly a tour de force, but his abilities are impressively displayed nevertheless.

     The final third of Split is where things start to really derail. The movie’s twist relies on the ridiculous idea that’s in vogue in Hollywood right now—the “Limitless brain function” thing, which also appeared in Lucy. The idea is that if the potential in the human brain were unlocked, something resembling superhuman powers would result. Split takes that premise to absurd extremes, at one point demonstrating that elevated brain function is sufficient to absorb direct shotgun blasts to the chest. The movie is, of course, fantasy, but its efforts to ground the premise in pseudo-science are so unconvincing that it disrupts the suspension of disbelief.

photo courtesy of silverscreenbeat.com

     Set in the context of the Unbreakable “universe,” the superpowers make a bit more sense. The movie’s final scenes reveal that this is the case—that Crumb lives in the same world as the characters from Shyamalan’s beloved film from 2000. In the world of shared cinematic universes, this comes as a bit of a sell-out and disappointment from a filmmaker with some real originality under his belt. And aside from die-hard fans, was anyone really asking for an Unbreakable universe at all?

     Split also suffers from some contrived plot conveniences. A la The Conjuring 2, the name of the villain is magically able to render him defeated. If that wasn’t enough, it’s only powerful enough to work once—which we only discover when it’s useful, on our way to a more exciting ending. In other words, the rules of the movie are redefined as necessary.

photo courtesy of hdwallpaperpics.net

     Finally, I think the film has some real trouble dealing with the representation of mental illness. There’s some effort to paint Crumb as strong—an entire subplot dealing with Fletcher’s attempts to convince people that Crumb’s situation is the next stage in evolution, for instance—but overall the character is demonized. He’s very clearly evil, very clearly unhinged, and very clearly supposed to be scary. Not a great way to present a legitimate mental illness to the public.

     The film tries to redeem itself with an emphasis on Casey’s brokenness. It takes a rather dark turn when it explores her background, but in the end we learn that it is her weaknesses that make her strong. Crumb/the Beast acknowledges as much, claiming that those who have been broken are stronger than the rest. It’s a nice touch (and a decent emotional payoff for Casey) but it seems like too little too late when Crumb is walking around (on ceilings) eating people alive because of his own brokenness.

     FINAL VERDICT: Split is a bit of a bust. A good premise and solid performances get stalled out in poor, unexciting story choices and a rather unfortunate depiction of mental illness.

photo courtesy of youtube.com