Split, M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film. I didn’t bother to see his last two or three, as I found him going progressively downhill, and his later stuff was awful by everyone’s account anyway. But I’d heard with Split, he was back on his game, back in Sixth Sense mode. So I went to see it today.
And I regret I did. In no way is this film up there with The Sixth Sense. Odd how I could simultaneously admire James McAvoy’s masterful performance while being bored shitless with the movie. And that was Bored with a capital B. I’m too busy now to see movies like I did in Bangkok, so I wish I’d chosen a better one that this.
I really enjoyed it. I dislike graphic violence or horror that makes me afraid of the dark for a week, so I’m glad that this movie was a bit tame in those regards. I do like psychological thrillers, and this was a good one. It was still a gripping story and McAvoy was brilliant.
Major spoilers ahead, mostly about the “twist” ending I don’t think registered on plenty of the audience, especially if they aren’t familliar with M. Night’s early films.
Fair warning…
[spoiler]I saw it and enjoyed it, but the last 60 seconds reveal this movie was really a super villain origin story set in the same world of Unbreakable. I’m sure there’s plenty groaning over that reveal, but for me, it made the hard-to-swallow direction the story went in Split more palatable.
So, it seems like M. Night is finally going to grow his “comic” film universe. How long before Bruce Willis is back to fight his rouges gallery? Do we need one more villain? Perhaps another super hero?[/spoiler]
And in fact I’ve heard the director say in interviews that he intends the next movie to be about Bruce Willis’s character from Unbreakable going against James McAvoy’s Beast character/personality from this film.
Personally, I enjoyed the movie. I went to the 4:30pm showing on Friday night, and was a little concerned that the entire rest of the audience appeared to be about seventeen years old. And from what I could hear, the young women behind me didn’t grasp the significance of seeing Bruce Willis (wearing a shirt with a nametag labeled Dunn) in that diner at the end.
I admit that I missed that too, but in my defense it’s been a few years since I watched Unbreakable. Fortunately my husband cheered and then after the movie reminded me of the connection.
I like it quite a bit and would definitely like to see Unbreakable 2 where David Dunn faces off against “The Horde”.
I was thrilled most of the way and am glad that no major twist came. What we saw, as far as I can tell, is exactly what happened. No twist that changes what we saw.
When he’s speaking with the doctor, it’s revealed that Kevin was left by his father on a train and raised by an abusive mother, which caused the split.
Well, with the reveal at the end I’m wondering if it’ll turn out that his father didn’t “leave” him as in physically abandon him but was killed in the train accident at the beginning of Unbreakable.
Maybe Mr. Glass created both Bruce Willis’ hero and also the Horde?
Also, loved James Malavoy’s performance and would have loved the movie even without the final reveal.
I wonder if there’s a sequel if the Hoard manifests other personalities with other abilities.
I saw it last night, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, albeit with some clunky writing and characterization. There were some interesting cinematography choices that made the movie seem really hallucinatory.
The ending was really redeeming, as I loved Unbreakable, and I realized how close it was in tone and style to that movie. The ending made it one of my favorite M movies. The reveal made me cheer out loud, though I didn’t hear many other people respond similarly
I kept looking for the “Tweest”, and there wasn’t really one, just the surprise at the end. I was thinking that something “supernatural” would be revealed about Casey (the outsider protagonist), other than her disturbing back story. There was a lot of shock expressed in the theater as her upbringing was shown, and I thought that was effective, too.
Liked it quite a bit, actually. I knew it was a Night S. movie, but I did not allow me to influence me against or for it.
I think James McAvoy did a great job. I mean, it was a huge risk to portray these kinds of personalities. It took a huge amount of trust to rely on a director to not make you look like an idiot. It came across great.
My wife noticed the music was the first clue this was an Unbreakable “sequel” of sorts. Right at the end, the Unbreakable music started and my wife said, “Hey, isn’t that…” and she was going to ask if it was the Unbreakable music.
Then the reveal happened and we were both pretty floored. Loved Unbreakable. Would totally see a sequel where David Dunn fights against James McAvoy in this movie(“the hoard”).
I really liked it. I’d been burned out on Shyamalan but was interested in this for McAvoy’s performance.
I enjoyed it throughout the film and was especially happy about the reveal at the end since I did really like Unbreakable.
Possible, but it would mean McAvoy’s character would be quite a bit younger than McAvoy himself, who was 21 years old when Unbreakable came out. I could maybe accept this character as being as young as 30 but no younger than that (which would have made him 13 or 14 when the train crash happened).
I’m going to go with no connection to the dad and the train crash.
Probably the most chilling moment in the film for me (or of most recent films I’ve seen) was when Dennis comes into the room where the girls are kept and picks one to drag out of the room with him. As the girl tries to cling to Casey for help, Casey frantically whispers, “Pee on yourself! Pee on yourself! Pee on yourself!” That she would think so quickly and know with such certainty to give this advice, communicates immediately to the audience the reason why she would have such insight. Her social self seclusion is immediately explained with heartbreaking bluntness.
I found it very satisfying that her story was not wrapped up at the end with any kind of happy ending. The police inform her that her uncle has come to pick her up. So, she really hasn’t been “rescued” at all. She’s freed from her abductor but returned to her primary abuser.
The character definitely has potential for growth if included in a sequel. The Beast’s reason for sparing her at the end, that he sees that she too is broken and therefore special like himself, was so much better from a narrative and character perspective than it would have been to have her defeat him in some way or make an implausible escape. It’s certainly established as true in this story that being “broken” unleashes a greater potential. With the Horde as her abductor in this film, she has potential to be pitted against him in the future but at the same time there’s a set up for a sense of kinship that may have her gravitate towards him since they are both broken.
I definitely look forward to whatever may come next.
I liked it a lot. The acting was amazing, and my heart sank as soon as they introduced Casey. I hope that pause with the police officer in the car meant that she was telling them all about her uncle.
I just saw Glass. While that did happen, I suspect it was not quite what you were hoping for. That movie went in a different direction than I expected, that’s for sure.
Is there a thread for Glass. I searched but couldn’t find one.
That movie went in a different direction than I expected, that’s for sure.