First off, McAvoy does an absolutely amazing job dealing with the multiple personalities. I mean, just fantastic work. Shame we are told there are 23, then only shown 8, but that's not his fault. Watch it just to bask in McAvoy's craft. Well, that and his hot body. (I am only human.)
The problem-one of them anyway-is that the plot seems less about telling a story and more about setting up some other story. I like to refer to this as "Back to the Future 2" syndrome. This movie seems to exist solely as a segue between Unbreakable and the upcoming Glass. Even before I saw the end of the movie with Willis's cameo, as the movie was obviously wrapping up, I was asking "is that it?" I certainly don't expect all the loose ends wrapped up in the end, but can we get any explanation? Any at all? The plot has set up these really intriguing characters then done relatively little with them. No sense of closure at all.
Problem two: the poster and tag line give away the big twist. He has 23 personalities and a 24th is coming. With Shyamalan's reputation for twist endings, the lack of a twist here seems... well... lazy? I don't know. Maybe I am being overly critical of Shyamalan, and he's trying to turn over a new leaf and stop us consumers from expecting it. Of course, if you don't have your gimmicky "twist" ending, what are you left with? Characterization but very little plot. Literally, you can sum up the plot in two sentences: teen girls kidnapped by man with multiple personalities; the girl with the messed-up past survives. I stand corrected. One sentence.
Problem three: believability. Every story and film requires a certain level of suspending disbelief, and this film really tested my limits. I mean, the doctor knows she can stop him-she even writes a letter to no one in particular explaining this-but then doesn't stop him as he's killing her? Also, I'm no expert on DID, but I am pretty sure it doesn't work that way. The whole point of dissociative identities is they... wait for it... dissociate. They do not share memories or talk to each other. That's why, among professionals who think it exists (there's a lot of debate), it is seen as a way to cope with trauma. It is supposed to be locking memories away in a different personality so the rest can go on living. I thought we were past this Hollywooded-up version of mental illness. I guess not.
Review of Split
