Actors superb in tense, if flawed, thriller At a glance
In the multiple-personality psycho-thriller “Split,” James McAvoyand Anya Taylor-Joy shine as predator and prey who understand each other far more than they know.
As Kevin/Barry/ Dennis/Patricia/ Hedwig/Orwell/Jade, McAvoy ferociously sinks his teeth into the role of a troubled young man who developed dissociative identity disorder as a coping mechanism to deal with an abusive childhood.
He kept his 23 personalities in control with help from a therapist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), but the darker proclivities have taken over, and he kidnaps three young girls to satisfy those urges.
McAvoy proves delightful when he is let off the leash and allowed to show his campy, unhinged side.
The role could have devolved into a “James McAvoy Does Accents” YouTube video, but the actor is too skilled. McAvoy slides seamlessly from one character to the next, each with unique gestures and facial physicality.
Dr. Fletcher has gained her patient’s trust by believing in the autonomy of each persona and suggesting that his condition could reveal a higher evolution of humanity, positioning his mental disorder as almost supernatural powers.
Buckley is wonderful, and casting her was genius — a nod to the 1976 psychological horror thriller “Carrie,” in which Buckley had a similar role.
Kevin (or is it Dennis?) meets his match in Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), a teen who happens to be with intended victims Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula) at the time of the kidnappings. Quiet and composed, she thinks
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
PG-13 (for disturbing thematic content and behavior, violence and some language) 1:57 at the Columbus 10 at Westpointe, Crosswoods, Dublin Village 18, Easton 30, Georgesville Square 16, Grove City 14, Lennox 24, Movies 16 Gahanna, Movie Tavern at Mill Run, Pickerington, Polaris 18 and River Valley theaters
her way out of the predicament, drawing on lessons learned from hunting trips with her father and uncle.
Although Kevin’s disorder could indicate a higher evolution, he has the basest of instincts. He’s a fascinating character, but director M. Night Shyamalan retreats to the tried-and-true formulas for this genre. It’s tiresome to see yet another movie in which yet more young women are stripped and locked in a basement.
That drawback aside, Shyamalan demonstrates a mastery over the form of the mean and lean psychothriller, aided in no small part by the performances of McAvoy, Taylor-Joy and Buckley and smooth-yet-unsettling camera work by cinematographer Michael Gioulakis.
The camera swaps character point-ofview rapidly, inhabiting victim and kidnapper, watcher and watched.
As the tension ratchets up, odd and off-putting camera angles and extreme close-ups emulate the cracks in reality.
Shyamalan unites victim and victimizer to make a powerful (if a bit facile) statement about turning trauma into strength. That concept is the subtext of the horror genre, and Shyamalan smartly makes it manifest as the driving message of “Split.”