A Split Verdict, Etc.
*Warning, this may contain spoilers for anyone that has yet to see Split*
I’m sure for many of you, like myself, after watching the trailer for ‘Split’ it left you feeling excited and in anticipation to see the latest M. Night Shyamalan movie. I, for one, was filled with happiness when I decided to watch the movie on Monday (6th February) with my best friend. Now, I have watched my fair share of trailers to know that trailers can be edited to perfection to the point where they are better than the movie. In other instances, the trailer can be executed poorly even though the film has a very worthy plotline. And in those rare occasions, the trailer gives just enough of the plotline to make you curious and leaves you feeling insatiable.
The trailer to ‘Split’ falls in that final category. James McAvoy plays a character with dissociative identity disorder (DID) and he plays each personality to perfection. We see the personalities he plays and the females he abducts, but other than that, nothing else is given away. The trailer portrays horror, thriller and even some comedy (Thanks to Hedwig who I will speak more about), and I couldn’t find any faults in the performance of the trailer.
Unfortunately, we only get to see a handful of the personalities in action in the film. However, the personalities we do see, are brought to life by a truly magnificent actor. Kevin Crumb (played by James McAvoy) has a total of 23 personalities according to his psychiatrist Doctor Fletcher. One thing I liked about the film is that they didn’t waste time to get to the main plotline. There’s three girls. Two of the girls are friends whilst the other is a somewhat ‘outsider’ as she isn’t classed as a friend by the other two. And all three have different personalities, yet only the outsider plays a major role in the film.
The film has three major stories unravelling at the same time. The first is the obvious one which is shown in the trailer; the abduction of the three young girls. The second; the back story of the outsider (Her name is Casey BTW). And finally; the story of Kevin seeing his psychiatrist, Doctor Fletcher. They make it quite clear early in the film which personality kidnaps the girls and towards the end, they focus on the reason WHY they were kidnapped.
Thankfully the story was easy to grasp. Everything seemed to add up and go hand in hand. Although, at one point I did wonder ‘why on earth do I care about Casey hunting with her dad?’. TRUST ME, that plays a major role to the ending of the film. You should never underestimate the contents of a film, no matter how much you lack understanding of it. The other two girls (whose name I have forgotten because I seriously disliked their presence in the film) play a part, but nothing too big and fancy like Kevin, Doctor Fletcher and Casey. Thankfully for me, they didn’t survive the end of the movie.
(From what I can remember) Kevin’s most mentioned personalities are Barry, Hedwig, Patricia and Dennis. It was amazing seeing McAvoy play a woman, a young child and a flamboyant clothes designer. He presented each character perfectly, adding his own personal touch. It was hilarious to see him cater an outfit to each personality and it left me wondering how he managed to change outfits quickly in a short time span.
Dr. Fletcher describes the personality takeover as ‘they all sit in chairs while one takes over’. The main personality in this instance is Barry. He is the one with the clothes designing job who seems to have a grasp on controlling the rest of the personalities. However, the personality is overpowered by the younger personality Hedwig. And because of his childlike and trusting demeanour, he hands over the power of controlling Kevin to Dennis and Patricia in hopes to not be ridiculed by the other personalities.
My favourite, by far, had to be Hedwig. He’s naive and childish. Two elements that perfectly describe a 9-year-old. And having a 37-year-old playing a 9-year-old was something of brilliance. His constant use of the word ‘et cetera’ in basic sentences had the people in the cinema laughing at the big screen. The personality was truly the light in a somewhat dark and twisted movie.
One thing that did frustrate me though, was the ending. The film had so much potential and McAvoy played a role that only a few actors could grasp. I won’t give too much away, but the last 20 minutes of the film had me wishing it would hurry up and end. I liked the prospect of there being a 24th personality, and if the 24th personality had been something as basic as a murderer, I feel I would have enjoyed the final 20 minutes a lot more. At one point in the movie, there were random cuts to different scenes in the film. While I understand it was creating atmosphere and build up to what would happen next, I felt it unnecessary.
A sense of fantasy had been included in the film, taking away its realism. Which leads me to having a ‘split verdict’. The storyline was truly amazing, and James McAvoy is a truly gifted actor. However, I feel Shyamalan ruined a perfect storyline with a poor ending. At one point in the movie, Kevin says ‘the broken are more evolved’ and I feel that is a powerful message in a twisted movie. Kevin is broken in the sense that he has 24 pieces to him, and it was fascinating to find out which other main character is also broken. The last scene of the movie also hinted at a sequel and I look forward to see what Shyamalan has in store for us next.
Stay lovely .x
A/N: All credit of Split poster used in this blog post goes to the owner and creator of the poster.
