A little less than two years ago, " The Visit " was released, a film that marked Shyamalan's return to the forefront after two huge failures. But now, no more films on orders and impersonal blockbusters: it is with " Split " that the director of Unbreakable marks his comeback. A brilliantly written and performed film that has a crazy intensity, caught up in an agonizing atmosphere. M. Night Shyamalan finds here his favorite themes by focusing on a personal and original work. It tells the story of Kevin who manifested 23 personalities in front of his long-time psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher. But there remains one, submerged, that begins to materialize and dominate all the others.
An original work
" Originality " is Shyamalan's watchword, and he makes it feel good to the spectators through the many twists and turns of his story. Split grabs us from the first minutes of the film, with this mysterious girl isolated in the director's frame, who has been reluctantly invited by a girl in his class. Then comes the character of Kevin, played by the excellent James McAvoy. The tension is overwhelming, it never stops, on the contrary it increases from sequence to sequence. This tension is partly due to Shyamalan's captivating narration, which always manages to surprise and goes where it is not expected. This is particularly felt on the last sequence of the feature film, or rather during the last shot that will leave many viewers speechless. Indeed, at the end of the screening, we sit for a long time during the credits.We ask ourselves questions about what we have just seen and our interpretation of the story is totally shaken.
Meticulous production
This narrative that is constantly evolving is combined with a brilliant staging. Shyamalan proves all the strength and intelligence of its realization in a single shot that summarizes both the story, the twist and the genre of the film by making us penetrate the head of the character. It's just genius! Today, rare are the directors who possess such meticulous staging and such crazy accuracy. While establishing a heavy atmosphere that makes the viewer uncomfortable, he remains master of the film.He masters it from start to finish and only shows us what he has chosen to show us (for now) and not the other way around. All these points indirectly remind us of the quality and talent he breathed into films like The Sixth Sense or Unbreakable. Even if Split does not equal Shyamalan's greatest works, it is his most accomplished and mastered film since Signs and it will not leave you indifferent.
This success is due in part to James McAvoy's astonishing performance that everyone agrees (even the film's detractors). Its transposition from one personality to another takes place in a blink of an eye. The transformation leaves the viewer captivated by his hallucinatory interpretation of this character who is as disturbing as mysterious.
During the premiere of the film, the director challenged us on the fact that we should not spoil people after watching the film. Indeed he explained that there is no mystery today when we go to see a film, because the trailer revealed almost the entire story. There is no more surprise, no more astonishment, no more originality. Thanks to Shyamalan who is here to remind us that originality is not dead, that he is a very great director, that he is back ready to turn our brains and that it is not about to end!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5gFMcqqHw
