Split

SPLIT

Director : M. Night Shyamalan 

Year : 2017

Genre : Thriller

Rating : ***1/2

While it may be rather tasteless and exploitative, the theme of multiple personality disorder is a narrative trope almost as old as cinema itself. Ever since being popularised by Robert Louis Stevenson in his 1886 horror classic 'The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde', people around the world have continuously been fascinated and frequently terrified by stories of those afflicted by split personas.  Whether it be Anthony Perkins' murderous Norman Bates in 'Psycho', Jim Carrey's goodcop-badcop Charlie in 'Me, Myself & Irene' or even the tricksy and sly Gollum in the monumental 'The Lord Of The Rings' series, audiences both young and old have marveled at actors and actresses portraying people with more than just one voice in their heads. But while this cinematic staple has proved successful for the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Peter Jackson, how will it fare under the eye of one of Tinseltown's most divisive filmmakers?

Having once been hailed as ''the new Spielberg'' following the phenomenal success of both 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Unbreakable', director M. Night Shyamalan has continually failed to live up to his potential. Time and time again, whether it be through the logic-defying stupidity of 'Signs', the remarkable blandness of 'The Happening' or the Razzie winning travesty that was 'The Last Airbender', Shyamalan has let audiences down with his poor storytelling, propensity for lazy characterisations and plot twists that illicit laughs rather than surprise or thrills.

But when 'The Visit' came out in September 2015, critics and audiences suddenly began to warm to Shyamalan again. Telling a pretty simple and exciting story with good characters on a relatively low budget, 'The Visit' appeared to hint at a return-to-form for the much maligned director and now, with the release of 'Split', it looks like Shyamalan has finally found his mojo again. 

Having impressed with his acerbic performance in Jon S. Baird's 'Filth', James McAvoy once again delivers a vicious and scabrous performance as Kevin, a young man inflicted with dissociative identity disorder, a rare psychological condition meaning that he has nearly two dozen separate personalities living inside his head. Kidnapping three young girls outside a shopping mall, one of whom is played by Anya Taylor Joy, Kevin - or Dennis, the most controlling and psychotic of his many personas - informs his prisoners that they are to be sacrificed to a mysterious entity only known as ''The Beast''. Of course, to say anymore would spoil the fun...

Like 'The Visit' before it, 'Split' has been made on a relatively small budget and these constraints have forced Shyamalan to be creative with his camera. Thankfully, the small size of both the sets and the cast has actually enabled Shyamalan to create a very claustrophobic and invasive horror experience. The music by West Dylan Thordson is scrapy and eerie and really helps to emphasise an atmosphere of dread while the inventive and intense cinematography by Mike Gioulakis allows us to feel just as helpless as our three central protagonists. But beyond it's visual aesthetic and menacing underscoring, what makes 'Split' truly scary and utterly unmissable is James McAvoy's central performance. 

Ever since his breakout role in TV's 'Shameless', McAvoy is an actor who has continually impressed me and 'Split' sees the actor delivering the best work of his career so far. Not since Jake Gyllenhaal's transformative performance in Dan Gilroy's 'Nightcrawler' have I been so simultaneously unnerved and entertained by a male performer and if 'Split' is as big a success as it should be, we could be seeing yet more sides to this chameleonic thespian. I can't imagine how challenging it must be to portray a character of this intensity without looking overly absurd but McAvoy manages to make every single one of Kevin's different personas unique and distinct without ever stretching our patience; whether it be the domineering Dennis, the camp fashionista Barry, the prim and proper Patricia or the lisping 9 year old Hedwig. 

In one standout sequence, McAvoy rapidly switches from one character to the next without the aid of computer effects but simply through extreme body language and astonishing vocal acrobatics and it is in this scene that his phenomenal powers as an actor fully come to light. Academy voters very rarely acknowledge horror or thriller performances but in my opinion, James McAvoy gives one of the most accomplished performances of the past 12 months of cinema and one that is absolutely worthy of Oscar consideration - thrilling, funny, terrifying and utterly unforgettable.

His wild performance is contrasted nicely with a brilliantly stoic turn from 'The VVitch's Anya Taylor-Joy who really shines here as the sheltered Casey whose history is just as fractured as that of her tormented oppressor. Of course, as the story develops and various character motivations come to light, 'Split' begins to play it's final hand and while I dare not spoil the inevitable twist ending here, I will say that it is a finale sure to illicit cheers from Shyamalan fans alike and moans of confusion and bemusement from newcomers. 'Split' may not completely absolve Shyamalan of his past cinematic sins, but it's certainly a step in the right direction and if he can live up to this films exciting promises, Shayamalan may just retrieve the crown he so carelessly dropped over a decade and a half ago.