USA TODAY International Edition
Chameleon connects in satisfying ‘ Split’
Shyamalan explores dissociative disorder in new mind- bender
The twists are always what everybody talks about afterward. The real secret, though, when it comes to M. Night Shyamalan’s best movies: a great acting performance, whether it’s Haley Joel Osment’s Oscarnominated haunted kid in The Sixth Sense, Mel Gibson’s ex- priest questioning his faith while dealing with aliens in Signs or Bruce Willis’ security guard coming to emotional grips with being nigh invulnerable in Unbreakable.
Add James McAvoy to that list of characters — and in his case, he’s good for quite a few as a man with 23 distinct personalities in Split ( eeeE out of four; rated PG- 13; in theaters Friday), an eerie and intimate psychological thriller with Hitchcockian tones harking back to Shyamalan’s early 2000s run that put him on the filmmaking map.
The writer/ director also has a knack for turning an ordinary day very, very wrong for his players. In Split, three teenage girls — popular pals Claire ( Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia ( Jessica Sula) as well as shy Casey ( Anya Taylor- Joy) — are kidnapped from a birthday party by a strange man and held captive in a windowless room. That guy, a stiff OCD brute named Dennis, is just one of the many identities of the mysterious Kevin ( McAvoy), and soon the youngsters meet 10- year- old Hedwig and uppercrust “lady” Patricia who warn of an unrevealed 24th personality — “the beast” — coming to get them.
Another, fashion- conscious Barry, is the part of Kevin who mostly interacts with the outside world, specifically his psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher ( Betty Buckley). She is fascinated by the expanse of her patient’s dissociative identity disorder though starts to become concerned about which part of Kevin is taking hold.
McAvoy is superb in a taxing role. The Scottish actor proves himself a real chameleon. He fully inhabits each character, sometimes changing accent or wardrobe, while making clear they’re all part of the same person and not someone wildly dif- ferent — for example, Patricia is very much a woman but doesn’t wear a wig to feminize Kevin’s shaved head.
Just as key to the movie’s denouement, however, is TaylorJoy. After a remarkable breakout in last year’s The Witch, she has a thoughtful turn as a troubled but intelligent introvert whose important back story is gradually revealed. There’s a reason Casey seems better able to handle this frightening situation than the other girls, who are pretty much your stock horror freaking- out females.
Split lags at times when it leans on stereotypical thriller tropes — of course there’s a vent in the ceiling and, of course, it goes nowhere — but the inevitable ( multiple) reveals are satisfying mainly because of the performances.
Shyamalan digs into the realworld question of whether or not the body chemistry of someone with a personality disorder can change with identity swings. Yet what resonates is his more subtle exploration of how people deal differently with trauma and the power of connection.
That message — and a captivating McAvoy — will stick with you long past the thrills of a cool twist.