Split - Waiting...
Thoughts On: Split
A man with 23 personas kidnaps 3 girls.
Without any annoying puns referencing the title or concept of the film, Split is a movie that distinctly does some great things with its narrative as well as some disappointing things. Everything great about this movie's narrative is centred on the characters Kevin (as played impeccably by McAvoy) and Casey - our protagonist whom Kevin kidnaps. Every scene where Casey has to interact with many of Kevin's personas is imbued with tension, with humour, with a highly immersive atmosphere, with a perfect blend of character, subtext and plot that truly keeps you riveted to the screen. Moreover, the manner in which Casey and Kevin slot into this narrative is the essence of this film and certainly the best aspect of it - something we'll return to. However, whilst there are no terrible elements of this movie, there is a huge bulk of this narrative that is nowhere near as good as the sequences and scenes focused on Kevin alone or with Casey. This comes down to the insertion of the 2 other girls Casey is kidnapped with as well as Kevin's doctor/psychiatrist/psychologist. To start with the two other girls, they literally do nothing but beef up the run-time. Without delving into spoilers, there's no real reason why these characters should be apart of this story. The same goes for Dr. Fletcher. All she does is explain the psychological ideas as well as the plot to the audience. This is then a poorly written character. Like the two other girls, she only serves plot, and in such she just takes up narrative space. I then think this would be a significantly better film if it had a much greater focus on just Casey and Kevin. Beyond this, Split is an intriguing film that is worth the watch. When you go into the film, just know that the marketing is bullshit. It's not a disappointing aspect of the movie, but Kevin only really has about 5 personas that you see. There is no ground-breaking performance where McAvoy projects 23 different characters in the same movie and there is no astounding script work that dares to try and manage almost 2 dozen characters in one body. Having said that, I can only say that I recommend this film to those who haven't yet seen it. To those who have, let's dive deeper into the film with...
Split is a film that is trying to do two things. The first is tell a complex, highly subtextual story about abuse and its effects on the lives of victims. The second is sell a classically 'Shyamalan' movie where the plot is the focus. And with the second side of Split comes all that is poor about it. As mentioned, there are many characters that should have been cut from the script. The reason they weren't is that this is trying to be a highly commercially viable movie that is essentially a simple, entertaining psychological thriller/mystery. In being this, Split is far too plot-centric. This results in a lot of exposition, a dumb, rather empty and meaningless B and C plot concerning characters that deserve no place in this narrative, that should have been replaced by more of a minimalist approach - something we'll return to. The end results of this side of the movie is a horrible final scene where we find out that Shyamalan is trying to establish a series linked to Unbreakable. A woman sees the news that reports on Kevin's powers and asks about the guy in the wheel chair that was arrested a few years ago. Bruce Willis is then revealed saying that the guy was Mr. Glass... DUN-DUN-DUN. This is a seriously cheap and "fuck you, pay me"...
... way of revealing a series of films. It's even worse than the Sam Jackson Marvel end-scenes. At least there was ambiguity, at least you had to wait until the credits had rolled, with the Marvel end-scenes. What this implies to me is that M. Night Shyamalan is still very capable, very capable, of making shit films. And I don't mean to imply that just because the ending of Split was poor that you can infer that the films to follow will be terrible. You can always feel Shyamalan on the precipice of dog-shit in this movie because of the plot-centric design of the narrative, the constant-exposition and shaky script work masked by great to ok performances. These are all tropes of Shyamalan's worst films - and you can even see them in his better ones (Signs, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable). For this, we should continue to be very wary going into his films--of which there seems to be quite a lot to come. Nonetheless, the superhero series that is being set up is incredibly intriguing to me. I will certainly be catching the next film and be eagerly awaiting to see what Shyamalan is going to do with its premise. This is because I believe that this series could be a very important one. If Shyamalan can continue to produce superhero films that are as good as Unbreakable and Split, we will hopefully see an example made to the throw-away movies Marvel and DC pumps out.
To explain why I'm so intrigued by, and so hopeful for, this series of films, we'll have to take a deeper look into Split. As said this is a film about abuse. Casey is a character that was abused by her uncle as a little girl. She attempted to confront him, to possibly kill him, but couldn't. This resulted in her silence, in her uncle continually abusing her and even becoming her primary carer after her dad dies. What's most tragic and painful to learn, which we do in the end of the movie, is that Casey still lives with this monster. However, she has a decision ahead of her. With optimistic inference, we can assume that the investigation into Casey's kidnap will expose her uncle, that she will tell the police, put him in prison and free herself from him. Further subtext is imbued into this with Kevin. He too was abused by his mother as a boy. This is why he developed so many personalities. However, because he is a superhero of sorts - just like Dunn and Price are in Unbreakable - this mental rupture manifests itself in the form of powers. The Beast, the 24th personality that comes from Kevin, is the height of this projection. The Beast, subtextually, represents the devastating phenomena of abused children growing up to be abusers themselves. If this is not so and you believe that this analysis is weak, then I find it undeniable that The Beast represents consequence - the consequence of being abused as a child. If this is not Kevin becoming an abuser himself, then these consequences certainly are him lashing out at the world. This explains why he kidnaps the 2 girls. They are normal kids that have probably lived perfectly comfortable lives. He kidnapped them to ruin their lives, to project his suffering onto the world. He cannot do this to Casey, however. She knows much greater suffering than he. This is why she overcomes him and why he stops trying to hurt her. The brighter note to the ending that sees Kevin liable to continue spreading his own suffering is that Casey has the opportunity to imprison her uncle and put an end to her own abuse. What the hidden meaning of Split then comes down to is the abuse victim and the power of their voice. This is a film all about reversing and overcoming a terrible childhood, about Kevin's personas and The Beast as representations of a torn mind. This leaves him an antagonist that immediately imbues a film with a lot of meaning that, if managed right, can be very profound.
As is obvious, Shyamalan takes on a daring subject with Split. And this is exactly why I support this film and the series it is spawning. Not only is the content original and highly intriguing, but it has depth. Having said that, I hold fast to the idea that this film needed to be focus on Kevin and Casey alone. This film could have been something like The Fly merging with Ex Machina...
... where we see a secluded, concentrated plot meeting a character arc of metamorphism - all doused in subtext. If the film then just had Casey and Kevin in a room for its vast majority without a concentration on the other 2 girls and without the psychologist, I believe that Split would be something near a masterpiece. The hidden meaning would have been much more intricate and the viewing experience much more immersive. Unfortunately, there is just so much of Shyamalan and his iffy directorial/writing style that is ingrained into this film. For this, I am apprehensive about the films to come from him in this series. Whilst Split and Unbreakable are pretty good films, they aren't perfect and could easily be The Happening or The Last Airbender. After all, won't we be seeing more action in the next film if Kevin is to continue growing in strength and face off against Bruce Willis' Dunn? Shyamalan, with the Last Air Bender, has resoundingly demonstrated that he can't do franchises and can't do action/fantasy. What Shyamalan is great at is realism and simplicity. This is why Unbreakable and Split work so well as superhero films made by him - you don't know they're superhero films and that the main characters have special powers until it's all over. If Shyamalan was to bring these two characters together... I really don't know. At best, I could see him creating something like Chronicle...
... but, at worst, I see another Airbender film. With pessimism in my bones, Chronicle is the best I can see Shyamalan doing. I wholeheartedly hope that he proves me everyone else wrong and continues to make better films, but, I just don't see it happening.
So, all in all, Split is a really good film. It has its faults and I think Shyamalan did an ok job writing it, but that script really should have been re-thought and given quite a bit more respect. All of this leaves me eager to see what Shyamalan has planned next, but, with quite a bit of apprehension. What did you think though? Did you like the design of Split and are you excited to see what will follow?
Previous post:
Mad Max: Fury Road - Man With A Movie Camera
Next post:
Fences - Cinematic Theatre
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
A man with 23 personas kidnaps 3 girls.
Without any annoying puns referencing the title or concept of the film, Split is a movie that distinctly does some great things with its narrative as well as some disappointing things. Everything great about this movie's narrative is centred on the characters Kevin (as played impeccably by McAvoy) and Casey - our protagonist whom Kevin kidnaps. Every scene where Casey has to interact with many of Kevin's personas is imbued with tension, with humour, with a highly immersive atmosphere, with a perfect blend of character, subtext and plot that truly keeps you riveted to the screen. Moreover, the manner in which Casey and Kevin slot into this narrative is the essence of this film and certainly the best aspect of it - something we'll return to. However, whilst there are no terrible elements of this movie, there is a huge bulk of this narrative that is nowhere near as good as the sequences and scenes focused on Kevin alone or with Casey. This comes down to the insertion of the 2 other girls Casey is kidnapped with as well as Kevin's doctor/psychiatrist/psychologist. To start with the two other girls, they literally do nothing but beef up the run-time. Without delving into spoilers, there's no real reason why these characters should be apart of this story. The same goes for Dr. Fletcher. All she does is explain the psychological ideas as well as the plot to the audience. This is then a poorly written character. Like the two other girls, she only serves plot, and in such she just takes up narrative space. I then think this would be a significantly better film if it had a much greater focus on just Casey and Kevin. Beyond this, Split is an intriguing film that is worth the watch. When you go into the film, just know that the marketing is bullshit. It's not a disappointing aspect of the movie, but Kevin only really has about 5 personas that you see. There is no ground-breaking performance where McAvoy projects 23 different characters in the same movie and there is no astounding script work that dares to try and manage almost 2 dozen characters in one body. Having said that, I can only say that I recommend this film to those who haven't yet seen it. To those who have, let's dive deeper into the film with...
**SPOILERS**
... way of revealing a series of films. It's even worse than the Sam Jackson Marvel end-scenes. At least there was ambiguity, at least you had to wait until the credits had rolled, with the Marvel end-scenes. What this implies to me is that M. Night Shyamalan is still very capable, very capable, of making shit films. And I don't mean to imply that just because the ending of Split was poor that you can infer that the films to follow will be terrible. You can always feel Shyamalan on the precipice of dog-shit in this movie because of the plot-centric design of the narrative, the constant-exposition and shaky script work masked by great to ok performances. These are all tropes of Shyamalan's worst films - and you can even see them in his better ones (Signs, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable). For this, we should continue to be very wary going into his films--of which there seems to be quite a lot to come. Nonetheless, the superhero series that is being set up is incredibly intriguing to me. I will certainly be catching the next film and be eagerly awaiting to see what Shyamalan is going to do with its premise. This is because I believe that this series could be a very important one. If Shyamalan can continue to produce superhero films that are as good as Unbreakable and Split, we will hopefully see an example made to the throw-away movies Marvel and DC pumps out.
To explain why I'm so intrigued by, and so hopeful for, this series of films, we'll have to take a deeper look into Split. As said this is a film about abuse. Casey is a character that was abused by her uncle as a little girl. She attempted to confront him, to possibly kill him, but couldn't. This resulted in her silence, in her uncle continually abusing her and even becoming her primary carer after her dad dies. What's most tragic and painful to learn, which we do in the end of the movie, is that Casey still lives with this monster. However, she has a decision ahead of her. With optimistic inference, we can assume that the investigation into Casey's kidnap will expose her uncle, that she will tell the police, put him in prison and free herself from him. Further subtext is imbued into this with Kevin. He too was abused by his mother as a boy. This is why he developed so many personalities. However, because he is a superhero of sorts - just like Dunn and Price are in Unbreakable - this mental rupture manifests itself in the form of powers. The Beast, the 24th personality that comes from Kevin, is the height of this projection. The Beast, subtextually, represents the devastating phenomena of abused children growing up to be abusers themselves. If this is not so and you believe that this analysis is weak, then I find it undeniable that The Beast represents consequence - the consequence of being abused as a child. If this is not Kevin becoming an abuser himself, then these consequences certainly are him lashing out at the world. This explains why he kidnaps the 2 girls. They are normal kids that have probably lived perfectly comfortable lives. He kidnapped them to ruin their lives, to project his suffering onto the world. He cannot do this to Casey, however. She knows much greater suffering than he. This is why she overcomes him and why he stops trying to hurt her. The brighter note to the ending that sees Kevin liable to continue spreading his own suffering is that Casey has the opportunity to imprison her uncle and put an end to her own abuse. What the hidden meaning of Split then comes down to is the abuse victim and the power of their voice. This is a film all about reversing and overcoming a terrible childhood, about Kevin's personas and The Beast as representations of a torn mind. This leaves him an antagonist that immediately imbues a film with a lot of meaning that, if managed right, can be very profound.
As is obvious, Shyamalan takes on a daring subject with Split. And this is exactly why I support this film and the series it is spawning. Not only is the content original and highly intriguing, but it has depth. Having said that, I hold fast to the idea that this film needed to be focus on Kevin and Casey alone. This film could have been something like The Fly merging with Ex Machina...
... where we see a secluded, concentrated plot meeting a character arc of metamorphism - all doused in subtext. If the film then just had Casey and Kevin in a room for its vast majority without a concentration on the other 2 girls and without the psychologist, I believe that Split would be something near a masterpiece. The hidden meaning would have been much more intricate and the viewing experience much more immersive. Unfortunately, there is just so much of Shyamalan and his iffy directorial/writing style that is ingrained into this film. For this, I am apprehensive about the films to come from him in this series. Whilst Split and Unbreakable are pretty good films, they aren't perfect and could easily be The Happening or The Last Airbender. After all, won't we be seeing more action in the next film if Kevin is to continue growing in strength and face off against Bruce Willis' Dunn? Shyamalan, with the Last Air Bender, has resoundingly demonstrated that he can't do franchises and can't do action/fantasy. What Shyamalan is great at is realism and simplicity. This is why Unbreakable and Split work so well as superhero films made by him - you don't know they're superhero films and that the main characters have special powers until it's all over. If Shyamalan was to bring these two characters together... I really don't know. At best, I could see him creating something like Chronicle...
... but, at worst, I see another Airbender film. With pessimism in my bones, Chronicle is the best I can see Shyamalan doing. I wholeheartedly hope that he proves me everyone else wrong and continues to make better films, but, I just don't see it happening.
So, all in all, Split is a really good film. It has its faults and I think Shyamalan did an ok job writing it, but that script really should have been re-thought and given quite a bit more respect. All of this leaves me eager to see what Shyamalan has planned next, but, with quite a bit of apprehension. What did you think though? Did you like the design of Split and are you excited to see what will follow?
Previous post:
Mad Max: Fury Road - Man With A Movie Camera
Next post:
Fences - Cinematic Theatre
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
