Split garnered controversy for its alleged stigmatisation of mental illness but it was worth it!

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2017)

Let's start with James McAvoy who definitely gives, in my opinion, the best performance of his career. As Kevin Wendell Crumb, a sufferer of dissociated identity disorder (DID), who has 23 prominently different personalities, each with something peculiar or dangerous for his captives. Kevin's body chemistry changes with each personality, resulting in his 24th and final personality, "The Beast", being capable of superhuman levels of strength, speed, mobility (allowing him to scale walls and ceilings), and a voracious hunger for human flesh. Yeah, sounds a bit too risky for all that to be the main plot- line for a film doesn't it?
Well the film itself was as risky as ever as it garnered controversy for its alleged stigmatisation of a real-life mental illness which happens to be the most controversial psychiatric disorder, with no clear consensus on diagnostic criteria or treatment.
McAvoy, from a general point of view, is absolutely incredible in this film, and he drove it all the way home. He had to inhabit so many different personalities for this role, and every single time he shifts, you can tell by his posture, the way he moves, and the way he talks. He's so automatic and smooth in his shifts, but he never stays in transition. It's instantaneous, and he gives everything he has to every second of screen time he gets. By the end of the film, it's almost like we've grown accustom to this man as compared to James McAvoy,and I forgot he was even in the movie. I also have to give Anya Taylor-Joy a ton of credit. The cute lady perfectly pulls off the stress, horror, and shock that her character needs to go through. I really didn't like Morgan, but she wasn't the problem with that film, but I've had a huge talent-crush on her afterwards. Seriously, she's incredible in The Witch!. I think she has so much ahead of her, especially in the horror and thriller genres. Next, this movie looks absolutely beautiful. The colours are dark and dreary, but they're used so well, and the lighting is perfect to set mood and to make an incredible looking movie. Shyamalan also uses the camera well for the most part. The movie has so many amazing looking still frames that allow you to think about everything going on. It doesn't need a fast-paced cut or dynamic sound design to pull out the thrills. We just see a lot of shots that linger on a character or a setting, and it gives the perfect amount of information and time necessary to process ideas yet still leave questions spinning in your mind. The first half is where this movie really excels in that area, and Shyamalan crafts the thrills so quietly and delicately that you don't even realise the small frog that's building in your throat. Split shows that Shyamalan can still do it when he stays small and returns to his roots. That talent is still inside him, and it came out for this movie.
The first half and a few more is really, very good, and can blow you away. But to be frank, the reason why the first half of this movie is so breathtaking is because it's where the director, 'Shyamalan' excels.
Well, now to be really really honest, if the first half is where he goes back to his classic thrills, the second half is where he comes unglued and lets everything fly. He did such an incredible job staying contained and quiet in the first half, but all of a sudden the movie introduces a few twists and turns that didn't work for me. Twists and turns are to be expected in a movie like this, but if Shyamalan continued on his path of containment, he probably would have been better off. I'll definitely outline which twists and turns didn't work for me in the spoiler- filled review, but for right now I'll just say that it was a combination of interjecting scenes and story arcs. Next, this movie has definite pacing issues.
Overall, I like Split more and more as I think about it, (don't worry you'll do it too!) and I can't wait to see what Shyamalan is going to do in the future. I think Split is going to hold up in the same way that Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense, and most of Signs does. It's not even a movie that proves Shyamalan's not a dud. It's a pretty darn good movie, and it has to get you excited for an Unbreakable series. Who knows? Maybe Elijah Price comes back and teams up with The Beast to be the brains and brawn against David Dunn. We've been waiting for an Unbreakable sequel, and Split gives us some hope for that. It's also a great origin story of a villain, and another great Shyamalan thriller.
Seriously, GO Watch it TWICE!