Split [DVD] [2016]

It's hard to remember, but there was a time when a new M. Night Shyamalan film was an event in and of itself. In 2002, at the ripe old age of thirty-two, there might have been no more hotly anticipated film of the year than the director's fifth film, Signs, but what was only his third feature since defining himself as the auteur he seemed destined to be. Fifteen years later and we are in a very different time and space. After the success of Signs (over $400 million globally on a $72 million budget) the studio system continued to only throw more and more money at the writer/director and increasingly his films became examples of trying too hard to do what his first few features had seemingly done with such ease. After 2008's utterly confounding The Happening it seemed Shyamalan might have given up completely as he then resorted to being a director for hire on projects like The Last Airbender and After Earth, but even in these endeavors he experienced some of the more scathing reviews and certainly some of the worst box office returns of his career. Where was the director to go? What was there to do next that might reinvigorate his career? Did this once glorious storyteller that TIME magazine so famously labeled "The Next Spielberg" even care to continue to put forth effort and/or art into the world or was he done? In one way or another it feels like we haven't had the real Shyamalan with us for some time. That the person he was in his early thirties had been lost to the grueling system and there was no certainty as to whether he'd ever come back. In truth, Shyamalan hasn't taken a break longer than three years in between films since 1998 film Wide Awake and those three years came in between Airbender and After Earth. It was only two years after the nepotism on a spaceship tale that was Will Smith's After Earth that we caught a glimpse of who we thought Shyamalan was and might become again. I didn't write about The Visit, Shyamalan's 2015 feature that experimented with the found footage approach, but it was a deliciously pulpy little thriller that not only provided a signature Shyamalan twist that worked with the rest of the narrative, but melded the humor, the uncertainty, and the tension of the situation in ways that felt organic-as if the marriage of story and image were flowing out of the director like they hadn't in some time and this upward trend in quality only continues with Split. Like The Visit, Split is set in a single location and relays a rather simple story in both interesting and horrific ways. It is a portrait of a character and in being that it explores a subject with multiple personalities it might be something of a twisted self-portrait from a director who was labeled as one thing, attempted to remain that thing until he was told he wasn't good at that thing anymore and then tried something else only to fail thus forcing him to re-invent himself once more.

I approached this film with real trepidation. I was a fan of M. Night Shyamalan's initial work but subsequent efforts seemed to be borrowing heavily from the early successes. Here he seems to be learning from his failures and accepted the fact that you can't catch lightning in a bottle twice. "Split" is unabashedly a homage to Alfred Hitchcock most notably "Psycho". This is not to suggest that it is a rip-off because Shyamalan takes some of the Master's themes and expands upon them with his own flourishes. There is a constant air of menace and dread that permeates the film that doesn't let go of you even until the bitter end. In a career making turn James McAvoy fascinates as Kevin, a man suffering from a multiple personality disorder. Your eyes can't leave McAvoy as he assays the different aspects of Kevin's persona and though capable of truly heinous actions you remain sympathetic to him. As a depression sufferer I was leery of the film exploiting mental illness but Shyamalan's script is very smart and empathetic. A film that resonates long after it's over.

I think I reviewed this movie before. NO, that was one of my other crazy personalities. The old Sally Field split-personality movie is the only one to appear focused on a bookshelf behind the moving camera on the Extras behind-the-scenes clip. Thank God for Freeze Frame or I would have missed the inside joke. This is well acted and filmed, and on first viewing I did not think it was a condemnation of the mentally ill with multiple personalities. I suppose some viewers would see it that way. McAvoy is amazing and so are the girls. The saddest thing is that so many real kidnappings happen and are not discovered for even many years. But that reality is not addressed in this movie, except fictionally in the relatively quick resolution, an expected feature of all M. Night movies. Night loves the sudden-gasp reveals. And he loves appearing Hitchcock-style in his movies. You knew that. Let us pray for the real captives out there who have not been found yet.

Although this movie did not do as much for me as some of this director's better films (Unbreakable, Signs, The Sixth Sense, The Village), it features perhaps the best performance of James McAvoy to date, not to mention Anya Taylor-Joy and Betty Buckley. This film is not only great because of its now-infamous twist ending, but because it works well enough on its own. Unfortunately, the philosophy of the film (purification through pain) makes little sense, and it falls into many of the same horror tropes as other films of the genre. Additionally, 10 Cloverfield Lane was a much better film featuring abducted women trying to outsmart their intimidating male captor. Here, characters suffer from their inability to speak up/act when it really counts, which is frustrating. Still, this is a return to form for Shyamalan, and I can't wait to see what he does with these characters next!

James McAvory does a great job of portraying the fragmented antagonist of this story, which slowly unwinds before the viewer in a riveting downward spiral. Like watching a train wreck, it pulls you in and keeps your interest in a ghastly way. Little did I know all those years ago when I wished for a sequel to the movie Unbreakable that I would get my wish by this circuitous route. Now I am waiting for the release of Mr Glass to complete this trilogy and tie all the plot lines together. It seems this director achieves his best work when he has control of the whole movie making process, and I hope he is able to write/direct/produce in this fashion for years to come, because the films he creates in this fashion are top notch.

I went in to this film with mild expectations because of the director attached and left the theater pleasantly surprised! I always found the 'split'-personality disorders interesting and while I'm sure this portrayal wasn't accurate to how most people with disorder have it, im sure this was an extreme version of a worse case scenario. James McAvoy shines as he transitions from one character to the next. I felt unsettled as movie progressed and more of plot was revealed. It was also filled with some strange comedy that fit just perfectly with eerie tone of the film. Do your self a favor and watch this film. A clever, surprise ending will make you appreciate the director even more if you are a fan of his earlier films.

After the cinematic dud that was The Lady in the Water and one of the worst films in history (The Last Airbender), M. Night Shyamalan had a long road back to being in the good graces of audiences. He wrote and directed the "found footage" horror film The Visit, which was a decent entry in his filmography, but no where near par of his previous works. But, a couple years after, we have Split. He has not only returned to form with a genius thriller that the incredible with a multiple twist ending, but brings us a ground-breaking performance from James McAvoy, on top of being solely driven by acting with no need for visual effects. This is a mix of Fincher and Hitchcock of the highest order, and a must-own for thriller fans or film nuts.

Even though I saw this movie 3x in the theater, I HAD to have this in DVD format as well. Well done and if James McAvoy is not up for and Oscar, I will be shocked!! I love that M. Night still makes use of Philly areas for his films and this movie again, with a small cast and very small comparable budget, proves once again that CGI and green screens are not prerequisites for great movie-making! If I have one pet peeve, it's the ending (no spoiler alert) but I thought I had this one figured out and felt I had even a better twist. I felt that his ending was somewhat conceited, as if you "should know" his movies to fully follow the twist. It's still a thrill ride and highly recommended.