Split

McAvoy is a master. And there’s girls running about with shotguns dressed in their bras… Shyamalan has returned to what he does best. Slightly chilling, weird thrillers which, due to peculiar camera work, the studio mistakenly classifies as horror movies. Split has a fine premise and, even if McAvoy has far too many people on his plate (only about four characters are important), the screenplay doesn’t go off into exaggerated descriptions of the situation – just about enough not to spoil the fun. The leading girl’s flashbacks seem slightly random, but in the conclusion they fit into the fragmented puzzle about the uncle with a liking for little girls. Shy has nothing to be ashamed about, on the contrary, this will likely hoist him onto a wave of success. Let’s hope he deals with it wisely this time. (23/01/2017)

I, too, feel split about this film, but given that it's celebrating a milestone (it has correctly topped the 3000 rated film number) it deserves a weaker four stars. So I'll start with the praise. James McAvoy, I've noticed a marked improvement in him lately and few could deliver such an intense performance as he does here, but the biggest discovery is Anya Taylor-Joy, who has already shown in both The Witch and Morgan that horror is the way to go. Here, on top of that, she shows that she has more than just kissable tits and her naturally beautiful shape literally took my breath away. That at 20 she can even play tears so believably, hats off to her, this girl is going to do great things. I also liked the appealing cinematography and definitely a breath of fresh air to the kidnap thriller genre. The finale is pretty intense, too. There are more issues though. The first thing that jumps out is the level of humour, not that I didn't laugh, but it didn't really suit a disturbing psychothriller. Also, the trailer and promotion touts 23 different identities in one body, but in the film we only get 5, of which 3 are interesting. The flashbacks and scenes with the psychologist severely slow-down the pace and are boring. And don't expect thrills or gore, this is a pure psychological thriller. I liked last year's The Visit much better, yet I admit that Shyamalan and James Wan are the only ones who can serve up solid mainstream horror. 70% (21/01/2017)

I’m split with this film, to put it mildly. On the one hand, Shyamalan holds a strong card with James McAvoy, who delivers an amazing performance. It’s also well crafted, several parts manage to generate a dark, almost evil atmosphere, which is contributed by a cacophonous score and nice cinematography. On the other hand, I was unable to overcome the sensation (at least during the first viewing) that the mythology behind the story is utterly stupid, even ridiculous in some places. My experience was like riding a rollercoaster: nice… nice… nice.. pretty good… nice.. hell, this was stupid… nice… nice… oh no… But when I look back at the mythology, it doesn’t seem as stupid as it did during the screening (for instance, it has some interesting analogies about faith and religion), and now I’m more inclined to believe that the execution is a bit sloppy. For the time being, I’ll leave it at three stars, though it’s leaning towards four (and a second viewing might help). In any case, I think The Visit was better, but, this one’s nowhere near the low levels Shyalaman’s films reached between 2008 and 2013. And a spoilery PS: It is very sad that the first Czech review (yeah, Fuka’s) is not only built on spoilers, but also the result of a misunderstanding of the film or of inattention to it, or a distortion or embellishment of the plot. Specifically in these passages: “At the end of the film, Kevin’s doctor also goes into his cellar, and she knows the terrible truth: There’s a 24th identity hidden in Kevin, one that’s not human but a supernatural monster!” Or “During the entire climax, it never occurs to the main character to repeat Kevin’s full name to render him harmless again.” Those are pure lies. Alas, the post-truth era. It doesn’t matter that someone is using bullshit as an argument, what’s important is that they have a strong opinion and trash the film. EDIT: After a week, I’m adding the fourth star. I keep coming back to the film (in good will). In this case it would be a pity to rate it as average, even if the complaints listed above remain, but they are no longer so intense. (19/01/2017)

They say Shyamalan is back with this film, but I have the feeling that he never fully left. With a few exceptions, he's still doing the same stuff: ghost stories, or at least thrillers, often with naturalistic elements, where the primary role is played for 90 percent of the film's running time by a crystallizing twist that more or less shocks at the end. But once the rules are set, it's good to stick to them. And so, when the whole film has the undertone of the reality of the laws of physics of the contemporary world, it is good to stick to them for the whole duration, because that final game-changer irritated me a lot. And this is one of the reasons why Now You See Me, which pissed off many a film fan with its digital trick escapades, was a flop. Maybe at least McAvoy will get an award for his performance, it was awesome! (30/01/2017)

Behold, infidel, who said that the genius visionary and director with Indian roots M. Night Shyamalan is well past his prime. After a series of commercially not very successful (but in my opinion definitely not bad) movies, he presents a film that deals with an incredibly interesting idea, which is also supported by practically perfect acting performance by James McAvoy. I have no idea what’s going through Shyamalan’s head when he’s coming up with such complicated premises, but I have to say that he’s doing a terrific job of putting his ideas on the screen, and mainly, he’s stirring up such emotions in me that I’s never come up with them myself. While watching this film, I actually felt that I was watching something that is rewriting the history of film and something that there will be lectures about in universities. That’s the kind of impression this movie made on me. (22/01/2017)