Split Eerily Showcases a Fractured Mind

M. Night Shyamalan's Split disturbed me. From the trailer, I expected something like his film The Visit, where there's evil, sure, but a place where you can feel simultaneously safe. Think Taken, a suspenseful story about a young girl who is kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery. If you've seen it, you know it's an awesome film because the girl's CIA agent father does everything in his power to rescue her, so you know the horrible situation is going to turn out well. But Split doesn't focus on this rescue mission the way many of Shyamalan's films do. Instead, we are captured in a mysterious multi-layered room basement with three teen girls and Kevin who is working on conjuring his 24th personality, "The Beast". Spatially, we cannot breathe, we are afraid to move, and even when we see a potential escape, we are cornered. The viewer is placed in the position of these poor girls being preyed upon. The only distance we get is when Kevin visits his psychologist, but even then there is no hope for escape.

Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) is our main protagonist and with whom we identify with the most. There are a few flashbacks, ultimately disturbing, that speak to her troubling past and aid in her ability to literally face-off with Kevin's suitcase of multiple persons. Still, her past is very dark and unsettling and you will be surprised and distressed by its tie-in at the end of the movie.

Kevin, et al. (James McAvoy) is the most disturbing villain I have ever seen on the screen, I think. Aside from one literal split second or two, where we actually see Kevin and where there's any possibility for the protagonists' safety, all we ever encounter are his four main prototypes, all equally disturbing, without remorse or conscience.

The camerawork, I will say, is innovative and inviting as it catches on the middle range of characters, emulating the strange and dysfunctional persona of Kevin. And the twist will practically flat line you.

But the biggest problem is how deeply disturbing the overall content is, the way that we feel trapped, without hope, and how there is very little reprieve and when it comes, it comes too late and is hardly satisfying. SO, this creates a stifling experience for the audience. In short, this created world is way too dark.

#AnyaTaylorJoy #JamesMcAvoy #MNightSyamalan #Split #Blumhouse