[HorrorScience] Split – Multiple – Fragmented (2016)

Reading time: 7 minutes

Qualification

Split

Year

2016/2017

Duration

116

Director

M. Night Shyamalan

Script

M. Night Shyamalan

Distribution

James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula, Haley Lu Richardson, Kim Director, Lyne Renee, Brad William Henke, Sebastian Arcelus, Neal Huff, M. Night Shyamalan, Bruce Willis

It has recently been released glass (Glass), which turns out to be the third part of director M. Night Shyamalan's trilogy of thrillers with heroic overtones, which began with Unbreakable (The Protected).

Curiously and despite the fact that Unbreakable I think it's the best thing the director has done. (and one of the best ways to make a superhero movie with some realism) I never knew that a second part existed, until the third part was released.

This may be because in Split (Multiple in Spain and Fragmented in Latin America) the story does not directly continue what was seen in Unbreakable and can be treated as an independent film, to the point that it is perfectly understood without having any idea of what happens in the previous one, something that helps that the protagonists of the first part (Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson) have nothing to do with this story.

In any case, after seeing Split, I have decided to comment on it, since it is a dark, twisted and certainly sinister thriller, which I think will fit perfectly in this section.

The story begins with 3 teenagers who are kidnapped in broad daylight by a tall guy with shaved hair and glasses. Due to his methodical and shameless way of doing it, it can be assumed that this is not the first time that this man has committed such an act.

[HorrorScience] Split – Multiple – Fragmented (2016) — The kidnapped girls will try to escape at all costs

Shortly after we will meet Barry, a fashion designer who has a couple of appointments with his psychologist, Dr. Karen Fletcher, after having spent a few days of anxiety and indecision. Apparently Barry has shown up at the doctor's office (and home) several days in a row, which she considers a bad sign.

Shortly after, the kidnapped girls hear voices and that is how they discover that their kidnapper (Dennis) is arguing with a woman (Patricia) about what has happened. Shortly after, they meet a little boy named Hedwig who lives with them both.

This situation is more picturesque than it seems, since Barry, Dennis, Patricia and Hedwig are the same person, a certain Kevin who suffers from multiple personality and is a patient of Dr. Fletcher, who maintains the theory that people with multiple personalities are being treated in the wrong way, since she considers that they are people with a vastly greater potential than the average human being.

Split (Multiple either Fragmented) is a film that maintains suspense from the first minute to the last and that is what best defines its quality. Due to lack of time I had to watch it in parts and the truth is that it bothered me to do so, because every time I stopped the movie I was anxious to know what would happen next. Fortunately, after completing it, I can say that the wait was worth it.

The curious thing about this film is not that the lead actor (James McAvoy) makes a notable effort to represent Kevin's different personalities, but that, despite the fact that I have not managed to connect too much with him (there are actors towards whom I quickly feel sympathy and others that give me more or less the same) I have continued watching the film because of how intrigued the story had left me. This is very important since for most of the film we will only see him.

I don't want to talk too much about the main plot, I think it's worth seeing for yourself, but I will try to explain a little about what is known about Kevin's personalities, thanks to the sessions with Dr. Fletcher.

Apparently Kevin had a very difficult childhood and that caused the birth of other personalities in him, some stronger and cruel, others more creative and happy. Most of Kevin's personalities coexist with some harmonyHowever, there are two of them (Dennis and Patricia) who are belittled and separated, because they have crazy and psychopathic ideas, because they believe that there is another personality (number 24) known as "The Beast" to which they must open the way for it to manifest itself, for which they must sacrifice girls.

Thanks to psychological treatment, Kevin takes control away from these personalities (which, inside Kevin's head, makes them feel marginalized and humiliated, wanting to take control and wake up "The Beast" so that the others can see that they are right). One of Kevin's personalities, the little boy (Hedwig) can take control of him whenever he feels like it, which is not a bad thing, since he is a harmless being. When Dennis and Patricia find out about Hedwig's ability, they manage to devise a plan to have control of everything. Will they be able to take control? Does the personality of "The Beast" exist?

The great thing about this film is that while I was writing the previous paragraphs, I had the feeling that each personality was a totally different character, thus fulfilling Dr. Fletcher's theory, which considers that each personality is a “human” in itself.

have you seen Unbreakable or not, I recommend Split roundly. What's more, if Unbreakable You didn't like it and it's not your type of cinema (because of the relative approach to the theme of heroes) Split It is still a highly recommended film, since it has a totally different tone.

Movie trivia:

According to some sources, Joaquin Phoenix was going to play Kevin (and his personalities)
The director usually makes cameos in his films, in this case he is the one watching the security cameras with Dr. Fletcher.
Although the protagonist has 24 different personalities, many of them are not reflected and are only mentioned very briefly in the final part.
This film received harsh criticism from multiple personality sufferers, since it was considered that it “demonized” the disease and harmed them when it came to leading a normal life. There were several charities that criticized the theme and the premiere was surrounded by some controversy.
The trilogy was initially going to be: Unbreakable, Breakable and Broken. Sin embargo, la segunda película se cambió para centrarse en Kevin hasta el punto de que quedaba sin conexión con la anterior, y de ahí el cambio de nombre a Split.
En cameo de Bruce Willis fue introducido solo como un método rápido de unión entre esta película con Unbreakable y la posterior Glass.