Split – Film Review
M. Night Shyamalan is back directing another movie, and this time, it’s Split, starring James McAvoy as a man named Kevin who has 23 different personalities, and one of them kidnaps three girls and takes them to a mysterious place. The three girls now must work with the personalities that Kevin has in an attempt to escape.
McAvoy proves himself to be one of the most underrated actors today. He has received critical acclaim for various films in the past, but not as much as some other actors out there which is disappointing, since McAvoy gives the best performance of his entire career in Split. His characters are all very mysterious, and as the film progresses more, we learn more and more information, and each time we see him on screen, he gets even more interesting.
Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke in Split (2017).
Also, Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey was brilliant. She has proved herself to be an incredible actress in 2015’s The Witch, and it seems like she has upped her game even more for this film, as we also learn a bunch of incredible interesting details about her character as the movie progresses. She is also a very underrated actress, but that should change, as Split truly is her standout movie, and I am hoping that McAvoy gets nominated for Best Actor and Anya Taylor-Joy gets nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2018. She does not have a plethora of speaking to do in the film, however, that does not mean she isn’t great. Almost all of the brilliant emotion she shows throughout Split, is given by her facial expressions, and that is something not every actor/actress can do, and Taylor-Joy definitely deserves praise for that.
I was always very intrigued with the story, and I was always on the edge of my seat throughout the entire duration of the film, and that is because Shyamalan took so much care and effort into making Split, that it just shines. There was not even a single moment in Split where I was bored, and I was always thrilled.
In-Summary: Split is by far one of M. Night Shyamalan’s best films, and is one of the best thrillers in many years.
Overall Grade: A
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for disturbing thematic content and behavior, violence and some language
Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Running Time: 117 minutes