Split (2016 American Film) - Split

Split is a 2016 American psychological thriller-horror film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film stars James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy and Betty Buckley and follows a man with 23 different personalities who kidnaps three girls.

Principal photography began on November 11, 2015, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The film premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 26, 2016, and was released in the United States on January 20, 2017, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews and was a massive financial success, grossing $240 million worldwide on a budget of $9 million.

Plot

Three teenagers, Claire, Marcia and outsider Casey, are kidnapped and held captive by "Dennis", one of 23 personalities present in the mind of Kevin Wendell Crumb, a victim of childhood abuse diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder.

Over the years, Kevin has been treated by his psychiatrist Dr. Fletcher, and appears stable: all of his personalities sit in chairs in a room, waiting for their turn "in the light", i.e, controlling the body, while "Barry" controls who gets to go in the light. Two personalities, "Dennis" and "Patricia", are kept out. In Dennis's case, this is because he has both violent tendencies and obsessiveâ€"compulsive disorder. The three girls realize Kevin's nature when they meet "Patricia", who dresses as a woman. Casey seeks to befriend "Hedwig", a personality that claims to be a nine-year-old boy, who confides that they will be sacrificed to "The Beast", a rumored 24th personality. When Claire attempts to escape, "Dennis" locks her in a separate cell.

"Dennis" masquerades as "Barry" and attends a meeting with Dr. Fletcher, but Dr. Fletcher quickly realizes "Dennis" and "Patricia" have supplanted "Barry" as the dominant personality. Marcia tries to escape next but is caught and also placed in a different cell. Casey continues to befriend "Hedwig", having earlier heard him mention a window in his bedroom. "Dennis" and Dr. Fletcher talk about Kevin's father, who abandoned Kevin as a child. The personalities began manifesting to help Kevin cope with the abuse he was subjected to by his mother, who suffered from obsessiveâ€"compulsive disorder. Casey persuades "Hedwig" to take her to his bedroom, but she is distraught to learn it is only a drawing of a window. She radios for help but is subdued by "Patricia".

Casey experiences flashbacks of being molested by her uncle John, who became her legal guardian after her father's death. Dr. Fletcher suspects Kevin is responsible for the kidnappings. She discovers Claire at Kevin's house but is caught, drugged, and locked up by "Dennis", who then becomes "The Beast", manifesting superhuman speed, strength, and agility. Knowing that the only way to call to the real Kevin is to speak his full name, Dr. Fletcher writes it on a piece of paper before being killed by "The Beast".

"The Beast" kills and cannibalizes Marcia, then Claire, while Casey stumbles upon Dr. Fletcher's corpse and her note. She briefly calls Kevin to "the light" by speaking his name. Horrified by his actions, Kevin orders Casey to kill him before his other personalities begin to take over. As "The Beast" returns, Casey shoots him but he appears impervious. "The Beast" voices his plans to rid the world of the "untouched", those whose hearts are impure because they have never suffered in their lives.

"The Beast" prepares to devour Casey when he notices numerous scars on her torso, and rejoices in the fact that she is "pure". Concluding that troubled people are exceptional, "The Beast" spares Casey. Casey is rescued by one of Kevin's co-workers and learns she was being held underneath the Philadelphia Zoo, where Kevin works and lives. Casey is asked by a police officer if she is ready to return home with her uncle. She hesitates, but her response is not shown.

In another hideout, "Dennis", "Patricia", and "Hedwig" exert collective control over Kevin's body and admire the power of "The Beast" and their plans to change the world.

In a diner, patrons listen to the media coverage of Kevin's crimes, for which he's been nicknamed "The Horde". One of the patrons notes the similarity between Kevin and a terrorist who uses a wheelchair and was arrested 15 years prior. The man sitting next to her is revealed to be an older David Dunn, who reminds the patron that it was "Mr. Glass".

Cast

• James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb, a sufferer of dissociative identity disorder (DID), who has 23 prominent personalities, each with something peculiar or dangerous for his captives. Kevin's body chemistry changes with each personality, resulting in his 24th and final personality, "The Beast", being capable of superhuman levels of strength, speed, mobility (allowing him to scale walls and ceilings), and a voracious hunger for human flesh.
• Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, a young girl with a traumatic past and a history of self-harm, who is kidnapped by "Dennis", one of Kevin's personalities, to be sacrificed to the Beast. Izzie Coffey plays a 5-year-old Casey.
• Betty Buckley as Dr. Karen Fletcher, a psychologist who attempts to help Kevin with his DID, and believes that DID can, in extreme cases, cause physiological changes.
• Haley Lu Richardson as Claire Benoit, a classmate of Casey and a friend of Marcia, who is also kidnapped by "Dennis" to be sacrificed to the Beast.
• Jessica Sula as Marcia, a classmate of Casey and a friend of Claire, who is also kidnapped by "Dennis" to be sacrificed to the Beast.
• Brad William Henke as John, Casey's uncle.
• Sebastian Arcelus as Mr. Cooke, Casey's father.
• Neal Huff as Mr. Benoit, Claire's father.
• Kim Director as Hannah
• Lyne Renée as Academic Moderator
• M. Night Shyamalan as Jai, a security guard in Dr. Fletcher's apartment building.
• Bruce Willis as David Dunn

Production

Shyamalan conceived of the idea for Split years before he actually wrote the screenplay. He explained, "In this case I had written the character a while ago, and I had written out a few scenes of it, so I even had dialogue written out, which is really unusual for me. It sat there for a long time, and I really don't have a clear reason why I didn't pull the trigger earlier. But this felt like the perfect time to do it, with the type of movies I'm doing now, and the type of tones I am interested in â€" humor and suspense." On October 2, 2015, James McAvoy was cast in the film to play the lead, replacing Joaquin Phoenix. On October 12, 2015, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula, and Haley Lu Richardson were added to the cast. On October 27, 2015, Universal Pictures came on board to release the film and titled it as Split. The character of Kevin had been in one of the early drafts of Shyamalan's Unbreakable, but he had pulled the character out, stating the re were balancing issue at that time. With Split, he brought in some of the scenes he had written for Unbreakable around Kevin. The film ends with the appearance of Bruce Willis' character, David Dunn, from Unbreakable and making a comment in reference to the previous film, placing Unbreakable and Split within the same narrative universe. Shyamalan requested permission to incorporate the character from Walt Disney Studios, which had produced Unbreakable. Shyamalan met with Sean Bailey about the use of the character and both came to a gentleman's agreement where Bailey agreed to allow the use of the character in the film without a fee and Shyamalan promising that Disney would be involved in a sequel, if developed. Shyamalan had been very secretive of Willis' involvement in Split, removing the final scene from the film for test audiences. Shyamalan said he would like to make a movie that would combine Unbreakable and Split in the future.

Principal photography on the film began on November 11, 2015, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reshoots occurred in June 2016. During post-production, Sterling K. Brown's role as Dr. Fletcher's neighbor was cut from the film.

Release

Split had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 26, 2016. It also screened at the AFI Fest on November 15, 2016. The film was theatrically released on January 20, 2017, in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

Box office

As of March 5, 2017, Split has grossed $134.6 million in the United States and Canada and $105.7 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $240.3 million, against a production budget of $9 million.

In North America, the film was released alongside the openings of xXx: Return of Xander Cage, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone and The Founder, as well as the wide expansions of 20th Century Women, and was initially expected to gross $20â€"25 million from 3,038 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $2 million from its Thursday night previews at 2,295 theaters, doubling the $1 million made by Shyamalan's The Visit in 2015, and $14.6 million on its first day, increasing weekend estimates to $30â€"37 million. It ended up opening to $40.2 million, finishing first at the box office and marking the highest non-X-Men debut for McAvoy. In its second weekend the film made $26.3 million, again topping the box office. In its third week the film again topped the box office with $14.6 million, becoming the first Shyamalan film to finish at number one for three straight weeks since The Sixth Sense in 1999.

Critical response

Split received generally positive reviews from critics, with McAvoy's performance being praised. On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 76%, based on 211 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Split serves as a dramatic tour de force for James McAvoy in multiple roles â€" and finds writer-director M. Night Shyamalan returning resoundingly to thrilling form." Metacritic reports an average score 62 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian gave the film four stars out of five, stating it to be a "masterful blend of Hitchcock, horror and therapy session." Also writing for The Guardian, Steve Rose had strong praise for McAvoy's role, saying that "he does a fine and fearless job of selling his character's varied personae." He commended his ability to switch personalities in one scene toward the end of the film, saying: "It's a little like the T-1000 at the end of Terminator 2. But there are no special effects here, just acting."

Accolades

Controversy

Split garnered controversy for its alleged stigmatization of mental illness. The Australian mental health charity SANE stated, "Films like this are going to reinforce a false stereotypical notion that people living with complex mental illnesses are inherently dangerous and violent." The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation issued a statement debunking the stereotype of dangerous dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients, and criticizing how the film was made "at the expense of a vulnerable population that struggles to be recognized and receive the effective treatment that they deserve." Some with dissociative identity disorder spoke out against the film (and its marketing) for the representation of multiple personalities as frightening and/or violent, including in an open letter to the director.

Possible sequel

Shyamalan expressed hope for a third installment following Split, saying, "I hope [a third Unbreakable film happens]. The answer is yes. I'm just such a wimp sometimes. I don't know what's going to happen when I go off in my room, a week after this film opens, to write the script. But I'm going to start writing. [I have] a really robust outline, which is pretty intricate. But now the standards for my outlines are higher. I need to know I've won already. I'm almost there but I'm not quite there." He explained that the final scene from Split was David's realization that Mr. Glass from the first film was right; there are superpowered people in the world. Disney, which produced Unbreakable through its Touchstone Pictures division, is expected to be a production partner and have financial participation with Universal for the sequel.

References

External links

• Official website
• Split at the Internet Movie Database