Split is directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Visit) and
stars James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class) and Ana Taylor Joy (The VVitch). It
tells the story of a man who kidnaps three girls while also struggling
M. Night Shyamalan has one of the most interesting careers
of any director. After delivering three great movies, his career had been on a
steady decline (to put it lightly). But after The Visit in 2015, many people
wondered if he was back. With great trailers, an intriguing premise, and a
mesmerizing star in James McAvoy, Split looked to be a return to form.
The highlight of Split is its star, James McAvoy. He eerily
portrays quite a few of the 23 personalities inside of his mind. Had this movie
followed the proper steps I could have easily seen him nominated for a Best
Actor statue at many ceremonies. The physical acting on display made each
different character feel authentic.
The movie also looks wonderful. The camera is always slowly
moving around adding to the sense of dread. I found out that the same cinematographer
from It Follows, Mike Gioulakis, also shot this movie, which makes sense
considering the tone of the movies are about the same.
My main problem with this movie is the three girls who are
kidnapped at the beginning. I have seen other films with these actresses and
they delivered fine performances but here they seemed completely out of it.
Their “reactions” were laughable at best and they awkwardly spoke many of their
lines that nearly took me out of the movie.
Another thing to note about this movie is that it deals with
some very dark themes that I was not prepared for heading into it. His previous
film was very light and fun with horror elements. While Split does have
humorous moments, some of the scenes were some of the darkest things I have
seen in a PG-13 movie maybe ever. Had I been prepared for the darker moments, I
most likely would have better enjoyed this movie, but some of the scenes took
me out of the movie.
In Shyamalan’s career, Split is one of his better movies
because of the tone and performance of McAvoy. But the darker themes and poor
performances by some of the other actresses left my liking The Visit just a
little bit more.
When should you see it?
Wait a Week
Wait a Week
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