M. Knight Shammeran returns with his new psychological horror film "Split". The film is adapted from real events. James McAvoy performs a strong performance and deeply explores the appalling "dissociative identity barrier", leaving behind one The ending is endlessly memorable and discussing.
(As for whether this point was adapted based on real events, thank you for the comment "sean"'s reply: "It's not true. Multiple personality is exaggerated by the movie. In fact, the earliest case of multiple personality in the United States has been proven to be false. Acknowledge that you are acting. See: https://www.npr.org/2011/10/20/141514464/real-sybil-admits-multiple-personalities-were-fake ")
M. Knight Shamaran Director's Certificate The 1999 "Sixth Sense of Supernatural" broke into people's field of vision. This is his third work and the first blockbuster released by the theater. This melancholic and mysterious psychological film, starring Bruce Willis and the young Hayley Joe Osment, has achieved a global box office of 673 million U.S. dollars, and more than 55% of its revenue comes from overseas markets. .
At that time, Shamaran, who was less than 30 years old, directed a series of thrillers, most of which ended with a big reversal. There was a time when film critics and fans seemed to be tired of Shamaran's routines. Whether they were right or wrong, they started to regard Shamaran's films as time-consuming, laborious, and force-reversal tricks. For many circles, mocking his talent has even become a fashion. The 2013 sci-fi movie "Return to Earth" starring Swanwell Smith and directed by Shamaran, hit the street with a $130 million budget at the box office. Shamaran began to reinvent herself and become a master of low-cost horror movies. Jason Blum cooperating, Blumhouse Productions, Blumhouse Productions, had previously succeeded frequently with horror films with simple concepts and low budgets. "Visiting Cry" is the first film directed by Shamaran under Brom's company. This low-key, role-focused horror film adopts an unusual plot and the same quality as a pseudo-documentary.
Shamaran on the set of "Split"
Shamaran's latest movie "Split" is a disturbing thriller movie that will surely arouse repercussions among the audience. This is Shamaran's most confident and outstanding work in recent years, both director and screenwriter. It immediately re-established Shamaran's banner as a "style director". This film may give the audience a somewhat divided movie-watching experience, which is amazed by the film's bold vision; it may also be vilified by others for the same reason, thinking that the film was "too much."
The film opens with a young people’s birthday party held in a restaurant. Casey (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), a high school student who is excluded, is invited out of pity. No one came to pick her up after the show, leaving behind two girls Claire (Haley Road Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sura), one of whom's father proposed to send Casey home. In the parking lot in broad daylight, the three girls were kidnapped and stunned by Kevin Crumb (played by James McAvoy, "One Beauty"). Personality disorder).
There may be spoilers ahead. When they wake up, the girls are locked in a closed room. Kevin is being treated by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Fletcher (played by Betty Barkley), and his condition suddenly takes a turn for the worse. Kevin’s other personalities include fashion designer Barry, obsessive-compulsive control freak Dennis, conservative religious woman Patricia, naughty 9-year-old child Hedwig, and other dangerous personalities who have been mentioned constantly and have not yet revealed their real life. "The Beast".
The longer the film is watched, the more terrifying the many personalities of "Yimei", especially the "beast" that slowly begins to make a sound. All personalities, Dennis in particular, are saying that "the beast" has special arrangements for frightened girls. Claire and Marcia advocated forming a group to attack Kevin, but Casey hesitated to resort to violence-Shamaran showed Casey hunting with her father and uncle since she was a child in a series of flashbacks. This is why she hesitated. She tried to talk and reason with some of Kevin's less controlling personalities, especially with Hedwig, hoping that maybe one of them could let them go. In the end, conflicts and contradictions were on the verge of breaking out, and the "wild beast" appeared on the scene, bringing fatal consequences.
In the nearly two-hour film, most of the time will remind people of last year’s "10 Clover Road", which is also a claustrophobic psychological horror film. There is also a young woman who is coerced in the film. In the cellar. But in the last half hour of "Split", the plot has changed, showing the badass "monster" that has been discussed continuously before, using a bold and interesting method, but this may irritate some audiences. The ending of "Split" is connected with other themes and characters of Shamaran's interest, and there may be an unexpected sequel. In most cases of this film, it reaffirmed Shamaran's precise grasp of the creepy atmosphere. He is indeed talented. At the same time, Shamaran also showed his excellent instincts as a screenwriter, which was not a bad thing in the first place. But sometimes, cleverness may be mistaken for cleverness, especially at the end of "Split", including a shocking line ("Broken is more evolved"), which expresses the movie literally Potential themes.
The three girls kidnapped
Apart from these small so-called "shortcomings", Shamaran's scripts are basically well done. The film dealt with the issue of "dissociative identification barriers" fairly and respectfully, taking it as a prerequisite for the film to happen, not a rigid gimmick to promote the plot. It portrays Dr. Fletcher as a compassionate character, and it is she who advocates "comprehensive therapy" (encouraging Kevin's different personalities to "survive"), even if something goes wrong. The handling of Casey is also novel. She may be the most powerful and three-dimensional female character in Shamaran's works. Her traumatic history has wittily influenced the character's views and behaviors, and deepened the film more naturally. Tension.
The film is mainly distinguished from other films by a series of special performances. Casey's breakthrough work at last year's Sundance Film Festival and his performance in "The Witch" in 2015 were incredible. She further consolidated her reputation as a promising actress in "Split", and the role of Casey is full of credible complexity. The secret weapon of the film is Barkley (Dr. Fletcher), this old actor has only appeared in more than a dozen movies in her 40-year acting career (but there is no lack of "Witch Carrie" and "Tender Mercy" in her list of works. And the touchstone of "Law Enforcement Titans"). She is great, gentle, compassionate, and frightened by the destructive personality of her patients. In short, she perfectly balances the capricious central role in the movie.
The performance of "Yimei" is creepy
Of course, McAvoy, without his stable and powerful existence, can bring truly different personalities to life, "Split" will fall apart, the film will look very pretentious, but it is not credible. Maybe a less confident director or actor will rely on prosthetics or CGI tricks to make the gap between Kevin’s different personalities more obvious, but through some clever work by costume designer Paco Delgado In tricks, McAvoy uses disturbing changes in body language and facial expressions to vividly reflect the changes between different personalities. This made all his personality look very real, and it also paved the way for the shocking final scene of "Split".
Maybe Shamaran's film will split the audience's reaction, but the suspense and imagination of the film are beyond doubt. The director's diehard fans will fall in love with "Split", which may start a creative and productive second spring in his career.
Other media's evaluation of "Split":
"M. Knight Samalan's popular return work, and the mentally insane new brain-burning film is an excellent extension of his earlier work."-"Variety" magazine
"Only James · McAvoy’s multi-faceted performance can save the film from complete mediocrity."-IndieWIRE, a movie site
, "Split" will remind you that Shamaran is a suspense film, and it also clearly shows that some of his works The inadvertent twitching is actually deliberate, and his sense of humor makes people worry." —The movie website Nerdist
""Split" makes "dissociative identification disorder" extremely ridiculous in the film, but its core is People are full of sympathy."-The Film Stage
"Samaran is more skilled in connecting themes at the end of the film."-"Hollywood Reporter"
author: Brent Simon
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