Split

Il existe deux catégories d’acteurs. Il y a ceux que l’on remarque et dont on finit par découvrir qu’on les avait déjà vus dans un autre film, mais que leur jeu n’était pas suffisamment distinctif ou intéressant pour que l’on s’en souvienne. James McAvoy représente pour moi l’autre catégorie, celle des acteurs qui vous touchent dès la première fois que vous les voyez. Et aussi drôle que cela puisse paraître, McAvoy m’a conquise avec son rôle du faune Tumnus dans Narnia. Il est l’un de mes acteurs préférés depuis des années, et après Split, je le considère comme un dieu. Ce qu’il peut faire avec son visage et sa voix est remarquable. Il peut être mignon, glauque, terrifian, mais aussi sensible. Parfois il vous effraie et vous donne la chair de poule, et dans la scène suivante il vous émeut aux larmes. Un vrai numéro d’acteur. Ce n’est qu’après le deuxième visionnage que j’ai pu apprécier la profondeur de l’histoire et l’importance de la dernière personnalité. Ce n’est pas que ce n’était pas compréhensible la première fois, mais la deuxième fois, on peut mieux saisir les détails et les liens entre les différents éléments, et surtout, apprécier pleinement la performance impeccable de McAvoy. Les actrices se débrouillent très bien aussi. J’ai beaucoup aimé le personnage de la gentille psychologue, dont le sort est peut-être un peu trop prévisible. Et Casey était bien aussi, mais la pauvre ! La fin peut sembler un peu tirée par les cheveux, mais personnellement, elle ne m’a pas dérangée du tout. Et il ne faut pas oublier le magnifique thème musical central, qui a immédiatement intégré ma playlist. Une excellente expérience. (29/04/2017)

Pas que je ne voulais pas crier à pleins poumons "Monsieur ...!" (je ne veux pas spoiler) dès les premières notes de la classique bande originale de James N. Howard. Et pas que je n'ai pas eu des frissons en les écoutant. Mais dans Split, qui n'a pratiquement aucun sens ou moment de surprise, cette "extension" est ajoutée de manière arbitraire. C'est une preuve que malgré ses blessures dans l'âme dues à sa chute abrupte à Hollywood, Shyamalan n'est pas devenu un surhomme. Mais malgré tout, ce furent deux heures agréables. Il a son style irrésistible que j'aime toujours rappeler avec sa divine trilogie. (08/02/2017)

Behold, infidel, who said that the genius visionary and director with Indian roots M. Night Shyamalan is well past his prime. After a series of commercially not very successful (but in my opinion definitely not bad) movies, he presents a film that deals with an incredibly interesting idea, which is also supported by practically perfect acting performance by James McAvoy. I have no idea what’s going through Shyamalan’s head when he’s coming up with such complicated premises, but I have to say that he’s doing a terrific job of putting his ideas on the screen, and mainly, he’s stirring up such emotions in me that I’s never come up with them myself. While watching this film, I actually felt that I was watching something that is rewriting the history of film and something that there will be lectures about in universities. That’s the kind of impression this movie made on me. (22/01/2017)

I’m split with this film, to put it mildly. On the one hand, Shyamalan holds a strong card with James McAvoy, who delivers an amazing performance. It’s also well crafted, several parts manage to generate a dark, almost evil atmosphere, which is contributed by a cacophonous score and nice cinematography. On the other hand, I was unable to overcome the sensation (at least during the first viewing) that the mythology behind the story is utterly stupid, even ridiculous in some places. My experience was like riding a rollercoaster: nice… nice… nice.. pretty good… nice.. hell, this was stupid… nice… nice… oh no… But when I look back at the mythology, it doesn’t seem as stupid as it did during the screening (for instance, it has some interesting analogies about faith and religion), and now I’m more inclined to believe that the execution is a bit sloppy. For the time being, I’ll leave it at three stars, though it’s leaning towards four (and a second viewing might help). In any case, I think The Visit was better, but, this one’s nowhere near the low levels Shyalaman’s films reached between 2008 and 2013. And a spoilery PS: It is very sad that the first Czech review (yeah, Fuka’s) is not only built on spoilers, but also the result of a misunderstanding of the film or of inattention to it, or a distortion or embellishment of the plot. Specifically in these passages: “At the end of the film, Kevin’s doctor also goes into his cellar, and she knows the terrible truth: There’s a 24th identity hidden in Kevin, one that’s not human but a supernatural monster!” Or “During the entire climax, it never occurs to the main character to repeat Kevin’s full name to render him harmless again.” Those are pure lies. Alas, the post-truth era. It doesn’t matter that someone is using bullshit as an argument, what’s important is that they have a strong opinion and trash the film. EDIT: After a week, I’m adding the fourth star. I keep coming back to the film (in good will). In this case it would be a pity to rate it as average, even if the complaints listed above remain, but they are no longer so intense. (19/01/2017)

The King is back in full force. While others pound it into you for two hours and go soft at the end, Shyamalan spends more than half the film escaping to comedic proprieties that are quite creepy knowing that three young girls are being held against their will in the basement. While McAvoy is cutely tripping on his tongue, or strictly driven by OCD (if the Academy wasn't so exclusive to certain genres, the Oscar nomination would have been there for him), somewhere in the back you begin to sense a creeping evil. The last half hour is pure phantasmagoria driven to the extreme, but so precisely handled cinematically that the dark vibe will knock a hole out from within your head. Anya Taylor-Joy will be a big star one day (hopefully outside the genre). PS: The bar scene isn't gratuitous - it's a confident and bold joke that harkens back to a time when some people and some things made us feel confident. (19/01/2017)