I think we can all agree M. Night Shyamalan made some great movies to start his career and then went through a bit of a rough patch. Thankfully, his newest film, Split, is a return to form and something you want to see as soon as possible so the various twists and turns can’t be spoiled. Trust me…see this soon.
If you’re not familiar with the film, Split puts Shyamalan squarely back in psychological thriller mode. The film stars James McAvoy as Kevin, a man who abducts three teenage girls (Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula) who suddenly realize that Kevin is one of 23 personalities displayed by McAvoy’s character, who suffers from a severe case of Multiple Personality Disorder. But as we learn over the course of the film, there is a 24th identity that threatens to emerge. That identity is “the beast”, and it hungers for the flesh of the clean and the unbroken as “sacred food”. The film also stars Betty Buckley as Kevin’s psychiatrist. For more on Split, you can click here to read Haleigh Foutch's review.
At the recent New York City press day I sat down with M. Night Shyamalan for an exclusive video interview. He talked about where the idea for Split came from, why Joaquin Phoenix dropped out of the film and how he landed James McAvoy, how his original cut of the film was 3 hours and why he decided to cut out Sterling K. Brown’s character, if he’ll release an extended cut on Blu-ray, and a lot more.
Check out what she had to say in the video above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the synopsis and recent Split trailer.
- Where did the idea for the movie come from? He wrote the character 15 years ago.
- Why did Joaquin Phoenix drop out?
- Talks about James McAvoy's performance.
- Who does he show his first cut of the movie to?
- How the original cut was 3 hours long.
- Will the deleted scenes be available on Blu-ray?
- Explains why Sterling K. Brown was cut out of the film.
Here’s the official synopsis for Split:
While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.
Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.
