‘Split’ may signify a Shyamalan comeback
Tonight marks the opening of the 19th Spokane International Film Festival. But if you have the time, you might be interested in catching a screening of M. Night Shyamalan's new film "Split." Here is my review of the film, which I wrote for Spokane Public Radio:
When the psychological/paranormal thriller “The Sixth Sense” hit theaters in 1999, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan was immediately dubbed a wunderkind.
Barely 29 at the time, the Indian-born Shyamalan – who grew up in suburban Philadelphia – watched as “The Sixth Sense” not only made boatloads of money (it grossed nearly $294 million in 1999 alone) but it went on to earn six Oscar nominations, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture.
Though the film got shut out at the Oscars, it trademarked the signs of a born auteur, not just in visual style but style of story. Subsequent Shyamalan films “Unbreakable,” “Signs” and “The Village” all feature, in one way or another, the familiar Shyamalan plot twist. But by 2008, following the release of “Lady in the Water,” the familiar had become cliché. And with “The Happening,” released two years later, even Shyamalan’s formerly impeccable visual style had devolved.
Four films later, after a series of critical disasters – not to mention declining revenues – Shyamalan is experiencing something of a comeback. Last year’s “The Visit” again wowed some critics, and his most recent release, “Split,” is already the fourth-best January opening film of all time.
“Split” begins with a kidnapping of three young women. Having been drugged, the women wake up to strange and horrifying circumstances: The first three people they encounter – a man named Dennis, a woman named Patricia and a 9-year-old boy named Hedwig – are all the same person (played by James McAvoy).
As we come to learn, that person – whose name is Kevin – suffers from multiple personality disorder, the result of abuse he suffered as a child. Shyamalan explains all this as “Split” progresses, and we see at least one of Kevin’s personalities – a man who identifies as Barry – in therapy sessions with a psychologist (played by Betty Buckley). We also come to know one of the kidnapped women, Casey (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), who herself has a troubled past.
The three plot lines – the young women trying to figure out how to escape, the therapist suspecting that her patient is hiding something and Casey reliving her own childhood nightmare – all slowly merge. And while Shyamalan plays fast and loose with the principles of psychology as he builds to a particularly fanciful ending, he keeps the plot moving well enough so that “Split” remains an entertaining view.
To manage this, he owes a debt to his cast. Buckley, a veteran actress whose film debut was in Brian De Palma’s 1976 version of “Carrie,” is a solid presence. Taylor-Joy is on a roll, having played a central part in the 2015 film “Witch” and the title role in last year’s thriller “Morgan”; Shyamalan’s camera obviously loves her.
But the ultimate success of “Split,” no surprise, depends on McAvoy, who is able to make each of Kevin’s characters feel both authentically unique and yet part of the same overall individual.
In the end, “Split” isn’t close to being the best film that Shyamalan has ever directed. But it does show that his career may be again headed in the right direction.