Split

Split (2017)

Starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Sebastian Arcelus, Brad William Henke, Izzie Coffey, and Neal Huff

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Written by M. Night Shyamalan

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Three teenage girls are kidnapped as they leave a shopping mall outside of Philadelphia.  Their captor is Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), a man with dissociative identity disorder -- he has split personalities.  Some of these entities are kind, but some are much more malicious...and the most evil of all is a man known only as "The Beast" whose strength is unmatched by normal man.

• Unfortunately, it's that last sentence of the summary that makes Split falter because up until "the Beast" is introduced in the film's final twenty minutes or so, this film was utterly exciting, thrilling, and had me on the edge of my seat.  Writer-director M. Night Shymalan had returned to much of his former glory crafting a tense flick.  Unfortunately, things fall apart a bit at its conclusion.
• That said, Split works for the most part.  This flick is all about the acting and Shymalan directs a great performance from James McAvoy anchoring the film.  He's buoyed by three nice turns from the teens whom he captures -- Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, and Jessica Sula.  
• The claustrophobic sense created by Shymalan is felt by the audience and I will admit that I didn't necessarily see things ending the way they did.  SPOILER ALERT -- That said, Shymalan's insistence to tie this in to one of his prior films hurts it more than it helps it.  Perhaps in his upcoming film Glass things will come together a bit more, but as for now the ending of this film disappoints.

The RyMickey Rating:  B