Along the lines of things being a long time coming, this movie is among my list of all-time favorite movies (all-time favorite meaning it’s worth watching on repeat and owning a physical copy of).
James McAvoy is enjoyable to watch on screen. He’s as familiar to me as Shia LeBeouf is as an actor. I remember reading James being praised for properly portraying the multiple personalities very well and not just being someone who is diagnosed with a personality disorder. This is where “Split” touches base with my heart. This world did not prepare me for the way they depicted Kevin James, who even though he was seeing a therapist still had struggles breaking through the obstacles of his past. There was space in this movie to offer Kevin compassion as well as the girls one of his personalities abducted while we uncovered the mystery of the hidden personality that loomed about this film.
I’ve long been fascinated with the concept of having multiple personalities and operating on a functional level with the rest of humanity. While this movie helped me explore what kind of life such a person would lead, it was clear that Kevin had an issue much more complex and elaborate. Such so that even the viewers were left to guess what exactly that looming personality (character?) The Beast really is. The psychological mystery behind how personalities work and how this movie tackled the issue without demonizing Kevin gave me hope beyond the movie.
In a way, I was hoping it gave me the strength to answer my own question: do I praise my complexities and exist without self-doubt or do I turn these dynamic colors of my living experience into something simple and repetitive for others to parse out and ride that wave, knowing where it leads?
It was the knowing where my life leads that was problematic for me, not because I understood myself well enough to know my life’s trajectory, but because it sounded like everyone else in my life knew it.
The Beast is not a hero to anyone in the film save Kevin James who protects him and all 23 of his personalities, since the trauma from Kevin’s childhood keeps him from rescuing himself, but the concepts explored here run deep. So deep, that as I’m writing this I’m finding out that “Glass” and “Unbreakable” are sequels and prequels to this one.
… I promised myself not to watch anymore movies until I post reviews of all the list of movies I have in my already watched, so until then I’ll be saving movie night for a distant rainy day.
Cheers!
At The Dinner Table 