split marks return to form for...

Wednesday, January 25, 2017 THE KERSHAW NEWS-ERA Page 7

By Joseph Garris Jr.Entertainment Editor

Please excuse me for a momentwhile I completely nerd out. This isgoing to be one of those challengingreviews where I have to find a way toexplain how good Split is withoutrevealing too much about the plot.

I’m a longtime fan of M. NightShyamalan. When everyone turnedtheir back on him and decided that hehad lost his touch somewhere along theway, I was the one holding out hope.So if that makes you suspect that Iprobably have a considerable amount ofbias, you’re probably right.

Nevertheless, along with the successof last year’s The Visit, it seems to bewidely accepted that indeed Shyamalanhas made his triumphant return toform.

Split stars James McAvoy as a kid-napper named Kevin, who has 23 per-sonalities that he juggles everyday. Oneof those personalities opts to kidnapthree girls, Claire (Haley LuRichardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula), andCasey (Anya Taylor-Joy), after a party.

He drugs the girls and locks them upin a mysterious underground makeshiftjail. Once the girls wake up, they findthat their captor has multiple personal-ities, including obsessive-compulsiveDennis, nine-year-old Hedwig, flam-boyant Brit Patricia, and fashionistaBarry.

Casey attempts to engage Hedwigwith hope that he will help the girlsescape. Just as they are trying to sur-

vive and hatch a plan to get away,Kevin continues to regularly meet withhis psychologist, Dr. Fletcher (BettyBuckley), who suspects that one of hispersonalities is beginning to take con-trol. Their conversations along withCasey’s talks with Hedwig help uspiece together the severity of Kevin’scondition.

Unfortunately, not even Dr. Fletchercan comprehend the force growinginside Kevin – a 24th and much moresinister personality.

Even moreseo than The Visit, thisfilm feels much more like a Shyamalanmovie. The skillful camera angles thatwowed fans in his earlier movies are ondisplay. Shyamalan is a master of tech-nique, and it’s so relieving to see his

skills on display again. Additionally,we get his classic homage to the greatAlfred Hitchcock, both in his story (anod to Psycho), and his usual cameo.

But I’d be remiss if I raved aboutShyamalan without giving equal praiseto McAvoy’s outstanding performance.The audience only gets a peak at a hand-ful of Kevin’s personalities, butMcAvoy transitions from one to thenext with incredible gusto. His per-formance is so crisp that each personal-ity genuinely feels like a new character.

Hedwig is the most enjoyable. Thecharacter is able to break up the tensionby delivering charming or outrightfunny sequences. Hedwig’s exchangeswith Carey are some of the film’s bestmoments. It’s also worth pointing outthat Taylor-Joy is emerging as a reallysolid young actress.

Casey has her own emotional strug-gles, and Taylor-Joy’s chilling expres-sions create quite the anxiety in a filmthat has plenty to begin with.

The final scene, for fans ofShyamalan’s previous movies, willabsolutely floor you. If you’re notfamiliar with his earlier movies, you’regoing to be a bit confused but don’tworry because many were during myshowing. My mouth was left wide-open as the end credits rolled.

Split’s direction shows a confidencefrom Shyamalan that we haven’t seenin a long time. With a story so atten-tion-grabbing and standout performanc-es from all involved, it’s hard not to getexcited about the sudden revival ofShyamalan’s career.

Split

Director:M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: James McAvoy, AnyaTaylor-Joy, Haley Lu

Richardson

Runtime:1 hr, 56 mins

Rating: PG-13 for disturbingthematic content and behavior,violence and some language

Grade: B

xXx: The Return of Xander CageThursday - 7:00

Monster TrucksThursday - 7:00

Hidden FiguresFriday, Saturday - 7:00

Split1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10:15

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage1:30, 7:30

Monster Trucks1:40, 7:00

Patriots Day12:45, 4:00, 7:10, 10:25

La La Land1:10, 4:20, 7:25, 10:30

Hidden Figures12:35, 3:45, 6:50, 9:55

Split marks return to form for Shyamalan

Answers:1.D, 2.B, 3.D, 4.C

If you thought for certain Ryan Reynolds

would never again reprise his role as Hal Jordan in

Green Lantern after the film turned out to be a major

flop, try again.

The actor is on a list with potential candidates

as DC Entertainment moves fowards with plans for

Green Lantern Corps. Included with Reynolds are Tom

Cruise, Bradley Cooper, Jake Gyllenhaal and Armie

Hammer. Cooper was the first choice to play Hal in

the last movie before the part ended up going to

Reynolds. Apparently, the huge success of Deadpool

has changed a few minds.

WO R D O N T H E ST R E E T. . .

xXx: The Return of Xander CageNightly - 7:00

Monster TrucksNightly - 7:10