Split personalities

GLASS

Obsession and self-delusion threaten the world in this sly superhero sequel from supernatural horror devotee M Night Shyamalan. The writer and director of 1999 smash The Sixth Sense brings two of his previous thrillers together, with a trio of star names, in a clever but plodding exploration of group psychosis.

In 2016, low-budget mega hit Split saw Scotsman James Mcavoy play a monstrous predator with a multiple personality disorder, while 2000’s Unbreakable saw Bruce Willis star as a super strong vigilante alongside Samuel L Jackson, as the criminal mastermind Mr Glass. Now the three are incarcerated in a psychiatric institution where the wonderfully watchable Sarah Paulson plays a psychiatrist who specialises in delusions of grandeur.

She has only three days to persuade the men they do not have superpowers before they are permanently locked up, but the guys are resistant to her treatment and there is a plan to escape.

With an impressive range and physicality, Mcavoy is superb as he flips between more than 20 different characters, and is by turns scary, funny and compelling – his performance deserves a more entertaining film.

Jackson gives a purposefully twitchy performance, and Willis at least seems more engaged than in any of his recent films. Shyamalan’s indisputable craftmanship is undermined by his showmanship, and he alienates his audience by delivering a movie light on action, with major pacing issues and a low quota of scares.

Critiquing society’s obsession with superheroes is a daring exercise in the week the Aquaman movie becomes the latest billion-dollar behemoth at the box office, and may possibly turn off casual movie-goers who feel they were promised a more traditional superhero film – albeit with a twist.

However, in smartly making a distinction between what we’re told is happening and what we’re seeing, Shyamalan leaves us with an ending which is clearly transparent.

Cert 15 Running time