Though it may be unearned, M. Night Shyamalan has a reputation for plot twists. From the good in “The Sixth Sense” (or the good-ish in “The Village”) to the bad in “Lady in the Water,” Shyamalan’s films are often defined by their twists. The twist in “Split,” however, is how straightforward it ends up being.
What happens
When Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, coming off her success in other thrillers like the critically acclaimed “The Witch” and critically unacclaimed “Morgan”) is abducted along with two other teenage girls, they’re faced with trying to escape not one captor, but 23 of them residing in the body of Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy).
What’s good?
McAvoy flawlessly weaves back and forth between Kevin’s many personalities, and Taylor-Joy stands on her own two feet as the character who spends the most time navigating who McAvoy is portraying at any given time. As the audience’s surrogate, Taylor-Joy serves as our eyes and ears, giving viewers insight into which personality we’re dealing with as they come.
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Also in the picture is Kevin’s doctor, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), whose research into DID (dissociative identity disorder) attempts to provide more context for what’s going on in Kevin’s mind. Buckley keeps the film from being a one-dimensional crime show and humanizes Kevin—or rather, his personalities responsible for the kidnapping.
What’s bad?
Though Buckley’s character gives insight into Kevin’s mind, there’s little to no discussion of how these 23 personalities came to be, aside from vague descriptions of “trauma” and “coping.” The audience sees more of Casey’s own traumatic past than of Kevin’s, and Shyamalan weaves a problematic conclusion on that end while attempting to wax poetic about suffering and pain.
The ending disappoints in more ways than its iffy moral standing. The film’s title is an accurate one, with the movie being split into two parts: the good first half and the awful second. Throughout the film, a mysterious entity is referenced as coming for the girls, building up suspense for an audience who waits for a classic Shyamalan twist to bring the film home. Instead, the film ends on an incredibly disappointing note, with nothing to show for the wild ride Casey endured to get there.
Final verdict
For a Shyamalan fan, “Split” is a worthy offering to help argue that the director is making a comeback. Though the last 20 minutes may disappoint, the majority of the film is genuinely thrilling and, to its credit, an incredibly interesting premise.
2 stars (out of four)
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