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Split (2016)
  
Review
*** This review may contain spoilers
***
When
M. Night Shyamalan has been at his most creative and fired on all
cylinders, it has resulted in some of the most inspired thrillers of
the past two decades:
The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable,
Signs
and The
Village. In Split he is at it again, with a
story that is as clever as it is preposterous, about a man with 23
different personalities, played with wonderful playfulness by James
McAvoy. The first part of Split is also the best, as
Shyamalan evokes an eerie atmosphere around the kidnapping of three
teenage girls and the subsequent introduction of the kidnapper and
his alter egos. Shyamalan demonstrates clever screenwriting when layer
after layer of the onion is peeled off and we get to know the McAvoy
character more and more. Much of the key to understanding him comes
through his scenes with Betty Buckley as his psychologist, and as in
Shyamalan's best films, the tension and suspense rises to vibrating
levels as we approach the turning point. Unfortunately, the film's
effect is somewhat diminished by the realization of McAvoy's final
personality, "The Beast", which could and should have been held on a
tad more realistic level to avoid the cliched and largely
ineffectual movie-monster-feel. Fans of Shyamalan may also like the
cameo of Mr. Glass towards the end, with all the anticipation his
appearance creates. Let's just hope the teaming of Kevin Wendell
Crumb and Mr. Glass will become more fruitful than Superman vs.
Batman.
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