An unrelenting thriller

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2017)

M. Night Shyamalan has had a very interesting directorial career to date. His films range from the wonderfully chilling The Sixth Sense to the woefully dreadful The Happening. His cannon is certainly a mixed bag but for me there is enough creativity and inspiration amongst his eclectic range of films to approach any new title he releases with an open mind. His latest venture Split boasts an interesting concept and a leading man who I consider to be one of the finest actors in his generation; James McAvoy. As a result I was cautiously optimistic when I sat down in the cinema last week and I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed.
Split follows three young women who are kidnapped by McAvoy's character and locked in a mysterious basement. This is not your standard slasher/torture horror movie however as it quickly becomes apparent that MacAvoy's character has been diagnosed with 23 distinct 'split' personalities. Some of the personas sympathise with the female victims whereas others are not so accommodating. Up until the kidnapping this title suggests that McAvoy's character has successfully integrated into society but something has gone horribly wrong in his head and the evil personas within him have taken over his actions. The choice of victims here and the claustrophobic nature of the captivity ensure that you will be on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Interestingly although the sympathetic personas that McAvoy embodies may break the tension at times you begin to feel empathy towards his portrayal of a villain as a result.
To just focus on the talents of the Director or the strength of the story line for this review would completely miss the main attraction of the title. James McAvoy once again provides a towering performance as Dennis, Hedwig, Crum, Patricia...OK so there are too many to list here but you get the point!
Many actors have attempted to play multiple characters in titles with varying degrees of success. Alec Guinness is a classic example of an actor who could embody anyone he wished (see Kind Hearts and Coronets for example). Eddie Murphy is a more recent example of an actor who likes to play versions of himself but his movies have descended into the dreadfully self indulgent Norbit. The primary difference with both of these actors however is that they rely heavily on costume and prosthetics to embody another character. What is so impressive about McAvoy's performance here is that he is able to embody a range of different personas without the use of extensive costumes or make-up. In fact his appearance is deliberately neutral as he has a shaved head so he has to rely solely on facial, bodily and voice expression.
We won't see McAvoy on the podium holding an Oscar this year as he hasn't even been nominated for the best actor category (which is bizarre but that's another discussion altogether) but if he keeps putting in performances like this his talents will surely be widely recognised amongst the critical establishment. For now he can take a lot of comfort from the fact that Split has been a huge box office success so clearly his fans recognise his talents even if the Academy elite do not.
Split is an unrelenting thriller that will get your blood pumping for the entirety of its screen time and it certainly represents a return to form for Shyamalan. Let's hope he can keep up this quality of work.
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