Intense Movie, in all the right ways.

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2017)

I should start this off with stating that I'm not an M. Night Shyamalan fan. I've only blandly enjoyed one of his previous efforts. This movie went way beyond anything that I was expecting.
The intensity is thick in almost every scene. There was not a point where I felt that the movie slowed down or went off point. It continually surprised me, even at points where I expected something to surprise me.
James McAvoy aka Dennis / Patricia / Hedwig / The Beast / Kevin Wendell Crumb / Barry / Orwell / Jade is the best bad guy since Buffalo Bill and Dr. Lecter. We've been waiting for a bad guy of this magnitude to grace us with his presence and he arrived in this movie. McAvoy's portrayal of the various personalities is electrifying. His ability to switch from one personality to another in the blink of an eye, with not hint what-so-ever of the previous personality is Daniel Day-Lewis worthy. No one sold out on this movie. From the director to the actors, you could see that everyone was on top of their game and taking their various roles seriously.
Betty Buckley's performance as a supporting actor was pulled off almost perfectly. You believed what she said, you believed that she believed in what she was saying, even when talking to the panel via Skype. Her portrayal of Dr. Fletcher was solid from the start.
Casey, Claire and Marcia made you genuinely feel their fear. When their hopes were dashed, your heart sank. Casey's manipulation of "Hedwig" was perfectly pulled off. As for McAvoy, you felt as though you were actually watching a nine year old boy talking. The interaction between those two alone made the movie worth watching.
The cinematography was perfect. The grittiness of the place coupled with the cleanliness of the rooms and the changes in lighting really set the mood for each scene. Rather than the low lighting wanting to put you to sleep, it added to the intensity.
The final scene made you feel sorry for an abused little boy and for the trauma he must have gone through to have reached such extremes. You don't even see the killer at the point until he spends that last few seconds revealing that he was going to be the new dominant personality.
There is much more that is wonderful about this movie but I'll leave that for people to see for themselves.