Split Between Not One, Not Two, but Twenty-four Identities

The movie “Split”, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, was released in theaters on January 20th making $14.6 million just on opening night. It is highly doubtful that you haven’t heard of it since it’s been all over social media. Unlike scary movies like “The Conjuring” and “Insidious”, this movie is more thrilling than scary. It will leave your heart racing and your eyes glued to the screen.

When three teenage girls are kidnapped by a mentally ill man, Kevin (James McAvoy), they must learn about each of his identities in hopes of finding the ones that could help them escape, while hiding from the others.

The director takes a different angle to this movie as it is supposed to be a horror film. He uses comedy and wit while also keeping an uneasy tone. The movie really interacts with the audience since they’ll be laughing one minute and jaw dropped the other.

What makes this movie so fascinating is that it is different from most movies that make it on the big screen. It wasn’t made in a setting of a different world or time period and it wasn’t the typical romance or scary movie. It is based on an actual illness. Dissociative Identity Disorder- a severe form of dissociation, a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity-, aka Multiple Person Disorder is found in 200,000 Americans each year. Just like in the movie, it is unclear whether or not this is an actual disorder or just another “psychiatric problem” (WebMD).

Shyamalan had to make sure the changes in Kevin’s twenty-four personalities were clear and understandable and he succeeded in doing so. Not only did McAvoy have to perfect one character role, he had to play multiple characters. McAvoy outstandingly played each of these different personalities which included different accents, different face expressions, and acted out various ages. From the beginning, it is evident that Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), one of the girls who was abducted, is different than most girls and has had a life changing experience and will always be there to haunt her. Or will it help her this time?

If you like being scared but not so scared to where you have nightmares, “Split” would be perfect because what makes the movie scary is the story itself. Overall the movie was well executed and keeps the audience interactive and thinking.

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder
http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/01/21/box-office-m-night-shyamalans-split-tops-with-huge-14-6m-friday/#499f46751122