Split movie review

Here's what you need to know; Casey and her fellow captives are in for a surprise when they learn that their kidnapper is not alone, inside his head. As the various names of his multiple personalities interact with them, Casey comes to realise that they were kidnapped for a reason. Meanwhile Dr Fletcher strives to help the various faces of Kevin, and unravel the mystery of a possible new face, one with evil intentions.
Hopefully this year I'll see a bigger variety of films, but I'm lazy, so we'll see. But the first film I watched in 2017 was Split, a film that, I'll be honest, I wasn't originally intending to watch, but if last year taught me something, it's that those films can really challenge my expectations, as this one did, so let's go.

This film wastes no time in making Kevin a creepy mother fucker, with a kidnapping in broad daylight. And on that note, Kevin, or rather; Patricia, Dennis, Hedwig, Barry, they are by far the film's most riveting character, it's hard to look at anything else when Kevin's in the room, and it really is worth noting how impressive it is that James McAvoy can so convincingly sell all of these unique personalities, from the flamboyant fashion fanatic, to the cute and dumb little kid, through to more threatening and domineering types, all with distinct costumes, voices and mannerisms, and when Kevin's creepy, he is really creepy. But while I feel I can say that, like most of this film, I feel like I'm on thin ice, but when it comes to Kevin, it's important that you don't think about it too much or come to conclusions until you have all of the information, which is delivered in a refreshingly slow and deliberate way. That can be said about the entire film, it's rare to see a film like this, a film that doesn't give you everything, and that trusts that you're not stupid and that you're paying attention, I want to stress how important that is, pay attention, because this film is a slow burn, and at times can defy the limits of believability, but while it does that, it provides a very interesting and at times very tense and claustrophobic thriller. I liken it in a lot of ways to 10 Cloverfield Lane, a little thriller from last year that I fucking loved. Other characters in the film range from riveting to boring, Casey is, very much like Kevin, a character with a slow burn, like Kevin, you get little lumps of background throughout the entire length of the film, and like Kevin, I don't want to really say anything about it, because I'm too scared of spoiling it. Fletcher is the character that's hardest to spoil, thankfully, as she is Kevin's psychiatrist, her interactions with Kevin are interesting enough, as she is concerned that Kevin's hiding something from her. Some of the exposition she spouts is a bit hard to take in, and a lot of it does, again, walk the line of believability, but take note of it anyway, because this film wants to believe you are smart, and it trusts that things will become clear to you by the end, which it does, and it's actually really awesome. Other than Casey, Kevin, and Fletcher, this film's roster of characters is nothing special, Claire and Marcia; Casey's fellow captives, are flat and boring compared to Kevin and Casey, likening it again to Cloverfield, that film worked completely fine on just three characters, and when the film's over, you remember Kevin, Casey and Fletcher, while Claire and Marcia are ultimately just there so the entire film isn't just Kevin and Casey, and so when shit really hits the fan, there is the opportunity for some ugly shit. That's really all I'm prepared to say on the film's story and characters, but I can say something without that anxiety of spoilers, and that's that this film is really nice to look at, it genuinely is, it's nice to see a camera being used as not just a way to show the story, but as a way to tell it as well, and while it's not intended to have the same effect as Gareth Edwards' directing in Monsters or Godzilla, it definitely makes for a film that, from a purely visual point of view, is never boring to look at. And while it's a much more minor note, admittedly, I liked the sound in this film, something about it was just perfect to me, it really creeps up the creepier scenes, and it's good.

Describing Split is nowhere near as enjoyable as watching it, since you want people to still have the mystery of the film intact when they see it, especially given the twist, that, while not as holy shit as I see dead people, certainly changes the way you look at the film. While it sometimes gets hard to stay with some of the shit the film tries to pull, it pays off in the end, and when you just sit back and let the let the film play, you'll find a very enjoyable thriller with incredible characters (plural) and that deliberately takes it's time, and pulls it's punches until the perfect moment, before hitting you with a knockout. I liked Split, and I'd very strongly recommend it.