My Reaction to Shyamalan's Latest?... Split.

Rating: 4/10 (22 January 2019)

You won't find me talking of the Shyamalannaissance anytime soon. Partly because I don't think the worst of the infamous director's catalog were that bad to begin with, and partly because his second "comeback" film (After 2015's surprisingly effective, The Visit), is not that good.
Split is a return to psychological horror for Shyamalan. It stars James McAvoy as a disturbed mental patient with 23 unique personalities, who kidnaps three girls in a mall parking lot, and keeps them locked away in an underground bunker. Their bid for escape provides most of Split's plot. The hook here is the multiple personalities. The film asks, what would it be like to be at the mercy of a man who can be anyone? One minute he is a calculated assassin, the next he is a loving nanny in women's clothing. Ok, interesting. Coupled with Shyamalan's skill with claustrophobic tension, there's a real winner buried in this story. Unfortunately, the movie we got doesn't work.
Split has been praised by many for James McAvoy's performance(s) as the diverse personalities. I guess this is my biggest issue with the film. I don't think McAvoy's acting is brilliant. In fact, I think it's a mediocre performance. His character represents a kind of acting exercise you might give budding thespians. Take a handful of wildly different people and make them distinct. On that level, McAvoy does just fine. But that's an acting exercise. A movie character, a good one anyway, needs more. It needs a spark that not anybody can provide. McAvoy's interpretations are simplistic and obvious. There's nothing under the surface. No juice to these people. They are written as cliches, sure (excitable young boy, effeminate fashion designer, etc.), but McAvoy simply mimics these cliches, rather than raise them to a higher level.
But it's not totally James McAvoy's fault the movie didn't grab me. M. Night Shyamalan turns in a script that is far below his talents. In addition to the girls' escape plans, the plot devotes a good portion of time to "The Beast", a personality of McAvoy's that is said to be supernaturally gifted physically. People talk about The Beast, warn of his arrival, and perform various other superficial tension-building dialogue. It all leads to an underwhelming climax that culminates in a Shyamalan twist that has no impact now that it has been revealed to the world. There's also the problem that Split is not very scary. The moments that are supposed to shock, are well-directed (Horror is where Shyamalan has always had a keen eye), but once again, there is a bridge they don't cross. I could sit back and remark at the craft of the tense scenes, but they never really grabbed me.
Split is not a bad movie, but it blows its opportunity to be good. There is an interesting idea, and a good horror concept at work in the script, but it needs another run or two through the typewriter. As it stands, it is not worthy of a recommendation from me.
51/100