Review: Split

Is Writer-Director-Producer M. Night Shyamalan back in the proverbial saddle? Many critics seem to think so. I, however, am not in any rush to declare a triumphant return to form for the filmmaker. Time will be the ultimate decider on that. What I am prepared to proclaim is that I thoroughly enjoyed Shyamalan's last film The Visit and was equally entertained by Split.

Let's be upfront right now. James McAvoy is the pulse of this film. His unabating commitment to each of the various personalities within his conflicted character is what drives the film. In fact, most of the tension derives from not knowing which personality is going to "step into the light" at any given time. One moment he is making sandwiches for the teenage girls that he's abducted and the next he is climbing on walls trying to eat them (not spoilers since this is all in the trailer). It's a performance as wild and creepy as it is enjoyable. Arguably a career best from McAvoy.

Behind the camera, M. Night Shyamalan is as sure-handed as he has been in a long while. His cinematography is consistently dark and drab (with the exception of a few contrasting flashback sequences). The pacing is deliberately plodding despite immediately plunging into the narrative. Familiar Shyamalan-esque themes such as trust and redemption are woven in throughout the script, even if some are more subtly hinted at than others.

With Split, Shyamalan seems to trust his audience a bit more than he had this past decade. The film appropriately allows the story to breath at different moments, allowing viewers to extrapolate on certain things while giving concrete details on the more important narrative elements. There are sparsely any instances where exposition is handed heavily through clunky, unnatural dialogue.

And then of course there is the signature plot twist that will likely isolate large portions of the audience. To say much more than that would be giving too much away. What I can say is that Split is a step in the right direction for Shyamalan's on hi supposed comeback tour.

Grade: B+