‘Split’ has lots of personality and unanswered questions

Jessica Deegan, Staff Writer

M. Night Shyamalan, writer and producer of the latest thriller, “Split,” creates 28 extraordinary characters, 24 of them, however, are the same person.

As mental disorders have always interested the public, Shyamalan’s film gives light to individuals suffering from dissociative identity disorder. This disorder is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personalities in one human being.

James McAvoy plays the main character, Kevin Crumb, and does a superb job executing the various moods and emotions of the disturbed and schizophrenic man. With great passion, McAvoy persuades the audience that Crumb is, in fact, a different character within each scene. Whether the character was a man, woman, or child, McAvoy performed each perfectly.

There were, however, many scenes that seemed unfinished within this film. Some examples include; In the scene after the three girls were abducted there weren’t any police scenes or presences searching for them. It was also odd when one of the girls made a distress call through a walkie-talkie and even though the man on the other end realized something wasn’t right, again, no search for the girls took place. With its intriguing story line, “Spilt” had great potential in being a fantastic movie all around. These examples, however, left the viewers with unanswered questions. In the end, turning them away from this film and onto a search for a new, more compelling motion picture.

It is believed that the film was too predictable and fake towards the end, causing many watchers to be dissatisfied. It is understandable that Shyamalan wanted to create a strong ending that really emphasized “The Beast” in which Kevin and all of his identities looked up to, but in many opinions, it was more of a simulated ending than a compelling one.

The reality of the dissociative identity disorder is that it is in fact a rare but real illness. Many believe that “Split” demonstrated this sickness very well, showing the various affects that this disorder can have on a person.

That is, until the ending.

There are many people who suffer from this disorder, however none of them will turn into a man-eating beast that crawls up walls and has super strength like “The Beast” does.

With that being said, if you enjoy seeing films filled with drama, horror, suspense and don’t care about the endings, this movie is for you.
If you find yourself wanting everything to fall into place without any confusion, you may want to pass on seeing this film.

Just remember, “He’s done awful things to people and he’ll do awful things to you.” – Kevin Crumb