The return of M. Night Shyamalan brings forth memories of hesitant excitement. Will it be good? Will it be bad? Will his trademark twist be worth it? Shyamalan spins a tale that truly gives you a reason to go to the theater, and I think the aforementioned inevitable questions about his work are proof of that. Split casts on the viewer something that doesn’t come often enough in the theater. I was absolutely spellbound. I also felt compelled to include at the end of this review some spoilers. I will warn you before they start.

First, James McAvoy plays a character with dissociative identity disorder, housing 23 characters in his mind, each of which he performs effortlessly. One of his personalities takes captive 3 teenage girls. The lead teen, Anya Taylor-Joy, was equally strong as a troubled young girl with a 1000-yard stare that drew us into her character Casey Cooke. The trio try to work together to escape the DID suffering McAvoy. Outside the escape, Betty Buckley plays the role of Dr. Karen Fletcher, McAvoy’s confidant and psychiatrist, whose crafted a character with such compassion and understanding for DID patients, you aren’t sure if this film even has a villain. The film would be very black and white without her, and the introduction of her point of view is classic Shyamalan as a plot device and metaphor for understanding and sacrifice.  

What makes this film specifically spellbinding is the way Shyamalan contorts and controls information using the camera. It isn’t just as simple as going from a cheerful birthday party to a disturbing kidnapping, its how much information is given without the characters needing to say anything. Body language was particularly key in this film. It drew me into asking questions and making guesses, and to the films credit, some of them are easy, others were a little harder. Good theater tends to reward the viewer by challenging their attention, leaving little hints about who, what and where. Whether right or wrong, you’re involved and you’re having a good time.

Becoming a master in anything means you are going to have to fail sometime. With a few less than stellar films in his recent past, Shyamalan pulled together an enthralling film that despite a couple of dips in tension and slow second act, the cast really holds this film together. The beauty of Shyamalan’s best films is that they warrant repeated viewing, and they don’t lose any power going from the big to small screen. This film is definitely worth spending money to view it on the big screen, but if you miss it, you won’t miss out waiting to rent or buy.

~* 8/10 *~

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The story takes place in the same universe as Unbreakable, if not a direct sequel. It unfolds in the most faceplanted way, just slamming down a few lines about characters from Unbreakable, concluding with an onscreen appearance by Bruce Willis as Dunn. After cleverly leaking character and setting details, this one was deeply disappointing. It could have been hidden in newspaper clippings or a walk past a comic book store. It wasn’t rewarding the way the rest of the film had been.

Taylor-Joy’s co-stars, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula (Claire and Marcia), while also great in their roles, really don’t get the time to shine they could have. This story could have easily encompassed a story of two girls from a cheerful inner circle learning to recognize and understand the plight of their outcast fellow student, Casey. I don’t want to imply they could have gotten Casey to come clean about her life long battle with a sexual abusing family member, but I feel that they simply turn out to be cannon fodder even though they initially start out as pretty well developed characters.

These two issues were major detractors for me. I realize I am being nit-picky here, but otherwise, this was a pitch perfect film. It has some long moments that could have been cut to keep the tension steady, but the atmosphere never takes a break, and it was by far the more important aspect of the film.