Movie Review (No Spoilers)
Split — personalities are a trip
Kevin: The broken are the more evolved.
Split is an acting fit, one of the weakest movies I have watched in a while. It pits James McAvoy against a rather dull cast, the film lasts as a teaser of his acting ability while stepping away from solidifying a impressionable story. The film reminds me of a showreel of an aspiring actor, with other members of the cast fitting a recognisable type in most bland horrors and pretentious thrillers. There are far too few moments that thrill though the film is lightly concealed, inviting you to wonder with it aimlessly I felt inclined to see it through. Though in brief I was truly unimpressed.
The film is about a man who has 23 split personalities and attempts to deal with this phenomenon through therapy. This angle of the film is interesting in a modern sense, discussions regarding mental health and therapy readily accessible in our current period. What is hidden amongst his personalities is the fact he is holding three teenage girls captive. It was slightly intriguing at first as it proposes a brief psychoanalysis of the main Character, played by James McAvoy, which at times could relate to the general state of Human beings. In a hegemonic sense it made me question what personality or rather identity is in control of me, if I am entertaining different personalities in different scenarios and groups. If these personalities and this angle of psychoanalysis was capitalised on in a comparative way I feel the audience would have absorbed the story regarding their own identity. Though it harshly lacks a direction, the audience is merely a viewer of a rigid story which is unreasonably horny in attempt to incite appreciation.
Thinking about it, I really hated this film. If not for the moment of it, which was a late night visit to the Odeon with a friend, I would have stopped watching 30 minutes in. I paid for the film and was luckily hungover to firm the 2 hours but it seemed so childish and made me cringe. Shyamalan is a notorious Writer and Director. I have a problem with such Directors who are infamous at storytelling — why are they so opportune but exact their ideas so poorly? How do they get funded to release such projects, and how this film has received a 7.5 rating on iMDB is beyond me. It seemed as if Shyamalan brainstormed a few notions, tossing them together in hope of producing something. Surprisingly it seems to have been well received, though I witnessed a compilation of some paedophilic agenda, mental health awareness and discussion, as well as abuse. Abuse represented in film like in any other form often shows me something new, adding to a bank of empathy or rather consideration.
In Split, the main Character seemingly suffers from a dissociative identity disorder. I cannot remember the extent of how it’s defined, but such representations add a kind stigma when it’s not properly explained. Though I believe this was done on purpose to add to the mysteriousness of McAvoy’s Character. Nevertheless, the themes of abuse and mental health reside in the film as shock factors opposed to serving as explanations.
I cannot explain the aim of this film, except as something McAvoy could use in his CV. As if he said look, here is a range of people and a scenario to act around them, despite him only selling two or three of these personalities enough to stick in my mind it works out to be one of those films the main Character is grossly overrated. It reminded me of Taken, Law Abiding Citizen and a hint of Drive — as the main actor takes lead over the story battling inner dispositions until they implode. I feel by building the reverence for such Characters, we glance over the story and its loose linear projection. They do not have to make sense entirely, but key events dictate the flow of the film. At times I found myself lost in between dialogue, as one of the split personalities will take over offering not so introspective comments. It was pretentious and creepy, it lessened the seriousness of the story in moments that could have worked.
You do not need an unstoppable main Character who suddenly becomes Batman when someone attempts to go against their will. Where do people have the time to become tactical Masters with intensified hearing and strength. It is so unrealistic but tells the tale of many contemporary “thrillers” — everyone is Marvel hero with no reasoning behind their abilities. These situations tend to be awkwardly one sided, it is always these scenes which damage the whole film. Despite there being several ridiculous moments for me, one of the last scenes really destroyed any taste for it I built for the film. It truly flipped the script, attempting to build a link with an older film of Shyamalan’s films. I only realised after the film that it was his, which explains why it’s not good. Though if you want to see what the fuss is about I suggest you do too. I might be over critical regarding the film and it could be a light hearted watch. Although we are in too deep regarding some ideas, like abuse and mental health that a unique selling point is nice to add some depth. It might become a cultural classic due to James McAvoy being fascinating, but it is not a film I am looking to watch again anytime soon.
