Split

It's great to see the cinema-going public both in the UK and Stateside flock to see Split and prove to any doubters and nay-saying critics that M. Night Shyamalan is a great Director.

Sure, he may not have quite topped his early triptych of movies but time does wonders to a Director's oeuvre and it is often their early features which are most heralded (my personal favourite auteur Quentin Tarantino still can't escape this particular fate in many people's opinion as well.)

What is apparent, though, is that Split does return Night to his iconic shtick; creepy, unsettling, vaguely supernatural spins on well-worn genres. There's even a very satisfying fan-nod to a certain early feature of his right at the end, after you think the film is over (so stay seated!)

What must be made abundantly clear upfront, though, is that Split does not contain an 'OMG' twist like those earlier features (I'd wager that The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and The Village stand as some of the best twists ever seen on film, amIright?!) Instead, we get James McAvoy in a tour-de-force role as a man with 23 distinct personalities; one or more of which kidnaps three schoolgirls. This is how we get set up and, via some haunting flashbacks from our lead heroine Casey (Anna Taylor-Joy) and some visits by McAvoy to his psychiatrist Dr. Fletcher, we learn more about the kidnapper and the kidnappees.

Shyamalan does a wonderful job, as always, at keeping you on the edge of your seat. The droning soundtrack, dark and mysterious location (which doesn't get a reveal until the end) and McAvoy's incredible ability to switch between characters makes sure you're never quite sure what's going to happen and, when he starts talking about a mysterious, dormant, animalistic 24th personality you, and the other characters, really don't want to meet it.

As good as everyone else is (and the three girls deserve plenty of praise) this is McAvoy's film. A chance for him to stretch his acting muscles as we see cold, OCD villain, a pretentious, upper class lady of leisure (with dress and heels), high-camp fashion designer and actually quite hilarious 9 year-old boy (complete with some rather brilliant childlike dancing!) We've been treated to some career-best performances this year and some cert's for Oscar nomination (Garfield, Gosling, Affleck) but this might just top the lot.

Forgive my film parlance but Shyamalan's cinematography is masterful, using original and instantly iconic shots to tell his story and take it away from the usual 'trapped room drama' (considering two of last year's best: Room and 10 Cloverfield Lane fell into this genre this is very welcome indeed.)

Its lack of a grandstanding twist does detract somewhat from the story but, otherwise, this is an original, creepy thriller and another top film to add to Night's catalogue. See it for McAvoy, stay for the direction.

4 stars ****