Tonight's movie was "Split", the latest release from M. Night Shyamalan. The Nightster started his career off with a bang, as you know, with the spooky "Sixth Sense". He then followed it up a year later with the mind-bending "Unbreakable", his second classic in a row. It was a hell of a way to come out of the gate, and he patented the M. Night Twist Ending in the process. After that, he made "Signs", which was good but not as good as it could have been. Too much of the baseball bat stuff. "The Village" followed, and was more or less a return to form (with a great score by James Newton Howard, played by Hilary Hahn). "The Village" had all the elements that made for a great Shyamalan movie, but it was maybe missing the tension and the downright weirdness of his first two efforts. Still, it was very good. I have it on dvd and have seen it several times.
But after "The Village", Night sort of went in the tank for a decade. The movies he made between 2006 and 2015 were not as bad as some ex-fans and critics would have you believe. Some were writing his cinematic obituary over "Lady In The Water" and "The Last Airbender" and "The Happening" and something with Will Smith and his kid that I had never even heard of before I just now IMDB-ed Night's movies. The point is that many people said Night was done. Those movies I mentioned may not have been godawful, but they were far from great, and nowhere near the excellence he showed at the start.
But then, in 2015 he made a nice little horror thriller entitled "The Visit", about a brother and sister's trip to their grandparents' house. It was something of a return to form, nice and weird, very cinematic, and while perhaps not a "10", it was certainly not as mediocre as his previous few films. It suggested that he might have something left in the tank after all.
Which brings us to "Split", which came out earlier this year. I did not see it in the theater, but I'd heard good things about it. I had kind of forgotten about it because there is a lot of stuff going on in the world, and Shyamalan films have not been at the forefront of Hollywood publicity for a while now. But today, I got an email code from Redbox for a free movie. I browsed the local Box, and saw "Split. Then I remembered the positive comments from last Spring, and decided to give it a chance.
Holy Smokes.
M. Night Shyamalan is back. He is all the way back, and may even have just made his best film.
"Split" is about a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as "Split Personalities", who kidnaps three young women and holds them in an elongated, labyrinthine basement that appears to be below a factory or some other industrial facility. There are hallways and rooms, plumbing pipes overhead and steel doors with locks. It doesn't look staged, like in modern fantasy horror. It looks like a real industrial basement.
The man in question is played by Scottish actor James MacAvoy, who had been very good in the movies I've seen him in previously. But in "Split" he has created a character, or more accurately a series of characters, that I think will be remembered in the same way that people remember Anthony Perkins in "Psycho". This is ultra creepy stuff we are talking about, and a staggering performance by MacAvoy, portraying a man with 24 personalities. Only a few are given prominence, but still, the way in which he presents them looks as if you are seeing the real thing. I was riveted by his performance, and by the movie itself, which features the tension-building direction of the Shyamalan of old. The young female foils are strong in their roles, going up against such an incomprehensible human monster, and so is the actress who plays MacAvoy's psychiatrist, Betty Buckley. Her character plays a central role in the unfolding of the plot. But this is MacAvoy's show and he runs away with it.
I know that Hollywood snubs horror when it comes to Oscar time, but I think if they overlook James MacAvoy next year, it will be a real shame if not a downright fraud. I don't know that he should win, because there will be a lot of great performers in the mix. But he should at the very least be nominated for his very original and mesmerising, creepy-creepy portrayal.
I give "Split" two very big Thumbs Up. One of the weirdest movies I've seen in a long time. Shyamalan is all the way back, dark is the Night once again..... ;)
Elizabeth, if you are reading, I saw your post this afternoon, via Sarah, about Wisconsin being The Place To Be. "These are my people", as she put it. I think maybe you are reading the blog, because I wrote something about that last night, about how much you love your home state and your town. That is awesome, to have such a good feeling for a place. Home is home, you know? :)
Now, I know you just moved, and I wasn't trying to promote anything to the contrary. It would not be my place to do so, and I am sure you are excited about your move or you wouldn't have made it in the first place. But just in case - in case you are feeling a little nervous (or even if you aren't) - always remember that you are still fairly close to home, and you can visit anytime.....
And the bottom line is that you can always move back in the long run, if you want to.
No decision is final, and happiness is what is most important, 100% of the time.
Life is about happiness and contentment, and the good feelings that come from place and people.
Everything else is secondary.
Now, having said all of that, I am in no way making a pronouncement on your move.
No way. Because I can only assume you made the move for good and exciting reasons.
All I am saying is that, in the long run, always trust your heart, because It Knows.
Give Chicago a chance. You may wind up loving it. But if you do not, after a while, you are still close to home, very close to the place you know you love without a doubt.
Keep your art in mind.
That's all I know. ////
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