Director Shyamalan receiving generally nods of approval

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 2017)

A psychopath (term used in a very general and imprecise sense) kidnapping a bunch of girls is a not a novel plot. Morgan Freeman's "Kiss the girls" (1997) is one that comes to mind right away. But while in that movie there is only one kidnapper, here in "Split", there are 23, as if you still haven't heard, occupying the same body. But obviously, we will not be shown all of them. In addition to the original personality that had suffered certain childhood tremor, we see a woman, a 9-year old child, an assertive schemer, an artistic homosexual and "the beast", among others.
Ever since "Sixth sense" (1999) Night M. Night Shyamalan has made numerous attempts but has not been able to repeat that feat. "Unbreakable", "Signs" and "The Village" all had something to offer in the department of finale twist, although a far cry from "Sixth sense". "Lady in the water" is a let-down. Personally, I like "The happening" although I am quite aware that this view is not generally shared. "The Last Airbender" appeared to be his final abandonment of his signature genre and hence a total disappointment. I am therefore delighted to see that there is a certain degree of his return to form in "Split", in masterful handling of thrill and suspense, even if not in devising clever twists.
"Split" is not a convoluted contrivance. The narrative is orderly, told essentially through omniscient narration granted the audience via the POV of a number of characters.
The motive for the kidnapping is not entirely clear. Two have been offered. On a simpler plain, one of the 23 personalities enjoys watching sexy girls dancing. On a subtler plain, everything is under the ultimate control of "the beast" who wants to collect innocent girls who have never seen any vicissitudes for some ominous, dark purposes. The three kidnapped is just a start.
After Anthony Perkins, James McAvoy is arguably among the best actors in this generation to play this multi-split-personality protagonist. This he has demonstrated convincingly, switching seamlessly from one personality to another right under the unforgiving scrutiny of the close-up camera. Anya Taylor-Joy, in what is closest to the lead female role here, shows her worth acting opposite McAvoy. Playing the kidnapped girl who had a childhood tremor just as bad as the protagonist's, Taylor-Joy captures the audience's imagination in a scene with a devious attempt to trick the 9-year-old personality into helping them escape. Also excellent is Betty Buckley as the protagonist's doctor who is, among other things, a sort of surrogate VO explaining the details of his case. "Split" to-date has earned an average 7.7 score from IMDb users, as well as generally favourable critic reviews.