A “Split” Opinion

M. Night Shyamalan, to some, is a creative genius, and to others, a confusing failure. I personally feel that his creativity has sparked more prosperous movies than unsuccessful ones. Titles like “The Sixth Sense,” “The Visit,” and “Unbreakable,” will go down in history, maybe not as the best movies created, but at least as movies with an unexpected twist. While many people enjoy these films, other people wouldn’t know him from Fred in the supermarket. This may be true, but one thing I think we can all agree on is whether you know Shyamalan or not, most everyone anticipated his 2017 film, “Split.” “Split” is about a man named Kevin, who suffers from multiple personality disorder. If that isn’t hard enough, this specific story takes place  before his disorder was even discovered. In fact, it seems the only person that does believe Kevin has a real condition is his psychologist Dr. Fletcher. She is not only Kevin’s therapist, but also the other 22 people who haunt him. A nine year old Hedwig, a homosexual man named Bary,  an OCD pedophile called Dennis, and so on.  Twenty-three personalities live inside of Kevin, pulling his brain, changing his chemical balances. For example, one person has diabetes and must use insulin; while it may help them, it doesn’t affect any of the others. The dominant personalities are pushing to unlock the twenty-fourth person, the more submissive ones, would rather keep things how they are.  Somehow in the mess of things, one of the personalities kidnaps three female teenagers and holds them captive in an attempt to push the last personality out of hiding. Even before watching the movie, you must admit the story line itself is quite captivating, and the trailer forces one to buy tickets in the theater.  One thing I truly loved about this production was the fact that the story jumped right to it. It didn’t take 20 minutes to introduce a bunch of characters, and action was inflicted five minutes in. Yes this is awesome, but some would argue that the ending of the film also did this, not giving its audience enough clarity. Either way, I thought the way it ended was fine, and the rest of the story really made up for the abrupt ending. Another factor Shaymalan included was flashbacks, linking the story throughout. This not only tied the story together but also created a sense of suspense. I will say the movie itself was not very scary, but more suspenseful and thrilling. No it didn’t have many jump scares, but it keeps you on your toes, and its darkness and eerie feel truly will captivate you. You can’t have an M. Night Shyamalan movie without a big twist. Don’t be surprised if half of the theater freaks out at the end, and the other half looks around wondering what they missed. It is a different twist for sure, but I can guarantee even if you don’t get it, you will not be disappointing with the rest of the film. I can’t speak for everyone, but I will say I fell in love with the 2017 film “Split.”