Spoilers SPLIT - An M. Night Shyamalan Film

[Commander Richard]

I saw Split last night and liked it quite a bit. I've always considered M. Night Shyamalan's movies to be appointment viewing or at least a strong curiosity but I was especially looking forward to this because it's been getting good reviews and people are saying that Shyamalan is back. I should add that I was in a packed theatre.

Split is about a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder, aka split personalities, who kidnaps three girls and holds them captive. Along the way, we meet his therapist who's a researcher who believes that people with this condition are special. The movie is filled with unknown actors, but it has a requisite cameo by Shyamalan and a powerful performance from James McAvoy.

As with Shyamalan's previous work, I found myself transfixed throughout the movie, wondering what was going to happen next and looking for clues that would reveal his trademark twist. And in the end, I wasn't disappointed. There is a twist and a reveal, so if you plan to see this, don't spoil yourself.

If you've seen the movie, did you like it? What did you think about the ending? Is M. Night Shyamalan making a comeback?

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[tharpdevenport]

I haven't seen the movie, but the trailer looks Godawful. Nothing in it says "See me".

I found "The Sixth Sense" just there -- not bad or good.

For me "Unbreakable" and "Signs" were fantastic, water aside.

After that it's been one terrible and increasingly more terrible film after another from him. And this new one wasn't even scored by James Newton Howard (one score fan described it "It's more sound design"), with whom he has worked with ever since Howard came in as a replacement composer on "The Sixth Sense" (except that episode of a TV series, which had a series composer).


Shyamalan is no longer somebody I can give a chance. I'll wait for reviews from online critics before I even decide to chance seeing some of it.

 

[Ethros]

I'm interested in seeing it soon. Commander Richard, how would you rank it or find it comparable to his other movies? I'm guessing it's probably not as good as the Sixth Sense or Unbreakable, but is it better than The Happening at least?

 

[Commander Richard]

For me "Unbreakable" and "Signs" were fantastic, water aside.

You know, I hadn't noticed that water was a thing with him until now. (Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen his movies.)

Unbreakable: The characters have water as a weakness.
Signs: The aliens are defeated with water.
Lady in the Water: The title says it all.
The Last Airbender: The story isn't his doing but it's funny that it involves the title character learning to master the water element.

And this new one wasn't even scored by James Newton Howard...

His music is there. In fact, it's a big part of the movie.

Shyamalan is no longer somebody I can give a chance. I'll wait for reviews from online critics before I even decide to chance seeing some of it.

Lots of reviews are out. Click on Rotten Tomatoes.

Critics Consensus: Split serves as a dramatic tour de force for James McAvoy in multiple roles -- and finds writer-director M. Night Shyamalan returning resoundingly to thrilling form.​

Commander Richard, how would you rank it or find it comparable to his other movies? I'm guessing it's probably not as good as the Sixth Sense or Unbreakable, but is it better than The Happening at least?

It's not easy to rank but I'd agree with your assessment. I didn't think it was up there with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable or Signs but it is better than his more recent work such as The Happening and The Last Airbender, and it's not mainstream work like After Earth. Split is very much early Shyamalan and he's at least fixed a number of his problems with writing and directing (he's toned down the fancy camera work and he's gotten some actual performances out of his actors) and it would appear that he's returning to form. The end twist is also something that will add to the movie's value once you know what it is.

 

[tharpdevenport]

I don't know what was tracked in or what happend, but there is no original music by J.N.H. for the film -- another composer scored this.


As for the water, I'm thinking more of "Signs" where people berate the film because aliens that can die from touching water, come to a planet that's full of water, has being on it full of water, plants and animal life with water in them, and of course rain and fog and humidity.

 

[Hugo Rune]

It's by far and away his best film since Signs

It may not have the mood or budget of some of his other films, but it's a very well put together piece, concreted together by two excellent performances and a clever, grounded supernatural bent.

The more I think on it the more I like it, especially its themes that synchronise with Shyamalan's earlier work.

If nothing else, for me, it was worth watching just to see James McEvoy realise all that potential he showed way back with Leto II in the Sci-Fi miniseries Children of Dune. His ability to make preposterous dialogue feel real and natural is pretty impressive. As are his 9-year-old dance skills.

Hugo - 7/10...etcetera

 

[Commander Richard]

Split was #1 at the box office this weekend and took in a little over $40 million. That's four times its budget. It also had the 4th largest January opening of all time. This bodes well for future films.

Source

 

[tharpdevenport]

I saw one writer, while reading up on the connection between "Split" and you-know-what (not to spoil it for anyone), saying perhaps this was a weird way of Shyamalan connecting all his stuff together.

I don't want to watch a universe where "The Happening" and "Lady in the Water" are a part of it. Bad Shyamalan! Go to your room!


If you are doing that.

 

[Hugo Rune]

I don't think that's the case at all.

Spoiler: Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers DO NOT ENTER Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers

Interviews with Shyamalan clearly show that Split and Unbreakable are uniquely connected, given Kevin and his 24 personalities were the originally scripted villain in Unbreakable, but during re-writes he decided to go down another path, saving a massive amount of plotting dialogue from those scenes for this film.

It's clear to me that Shyamalan has done something rather unique - he has spent two entire separate origin films creating his hero and his villain and hopes to make a third to vie them against each other. Split very much came across as a "birth of a monster" film, and even without the appearance of Dunn at the end, I felt it was a satisfactory one and would have been fine with no follow up.

I can't really see how his other films connect in, either stylistically or from an in-universe perspective either. This was a fascinating use of unused B-side material to create its own film and develop something rather different in universe building.

Roll on part 3

Hugo - take a risk, go see it

 

[tharpdevenport]

So, putting aside what may be previously written material, would you say the rest is any good? 'cause just on that comment alone, it looks like critics are fooled by Shyamalan, that there has been no return to form, he's just used stuff he wrote when he was still in form, then put some stuff around it and got lucky.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Yeah, you're right, the critics and I have been fooled by Shyamalan's slight of hand.

Wicked. Tricksy. False.

Hugo -

 

[tharpdevenport]

Hugo -

Well, I'm sorry to feel that way, but I fucking refuse to let Shyamalan have one more penny from me and I need to ferret this thing out until I am certain he's not pulled another turd out of a hat.

Far too many people, and it seems to get a little worse each year, are praising one Godawful film after another, or lavishing praise upon polished turds, like "Lucy" for example, and think things like "Suicide Squad" was good. The bar is so low even James Caeron would have a hard time reaching it.

The more I learn about this film, the more unsettled I become about it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I won't know until I know more about this film and for me it appears to be a waiting game.