DVD Review: Split
M. Night. Shyamalan’s biggest burden is The Sixth Sense. It’s almost impossible to talk to people about any of his other films without them being disappointed that it wasn’t like The Sixth Sense. If you’re going to go see a M. Night. Shyamalan film, FORGET THE SIXTH SENSE. If you spend the entire film waiting for or trying to guess what the big twist is going to be YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED.
Some people have said that they loved the twist at the end of Split. I’m going to say that there is no twist. Just a bloody good psychological thriller.
The film centers around Kevin, who kidnaps three teenage girls. Kevin suffers from dissociative identity disorder and has different personas. He moves between the his identities with ease. The three main ones as far as the film is concerned are Dennis, the one in charge, Hedwig, a 9 year old boy who’s afraid of Dennis and Patricia, who wears a classy skirt and heels.
I won’t delve any further into the plot, suffice to say that Kevin has nefarious plans for the three girls.
What I will say is that James McAvoy absolutely nails the role of Kevin et al. He plays crazy like it was his true persona and manages to take this crazy and give it several distinct personalities. Even without a well crafted plot Split would have been worth the watch just to see McAvoy. But teamed up with Shyamalan and you have a powerhouse of a film.
Rating: R13 Violence & horror scenes, content my offend.
FILMGUIDE rating:
