Split: James McAvoy truly shines in this very original villain origin story

After watching the massive disappointment that was Pose starring McAvoy I was actually a bit shaken by how disappointed I was in it. I had really enjoyed him in several other movies and it actually took me a while to remember this one that is kind of a new take on superhero films for people who don't really care for superhero films.

They don't call it a superhero film, but that is kind of what the trilogy of Unbreakable, Split, and Glass. Of these three films I thought Split was by far the best and a lot of the reason why this is the case is because of McAvoy's performance in it.

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I like the way this movie starts. It doesn't even seem like it is going to be a thriller as we are introduced to some teenage girls who are getting a ride home with one of their fathers when all of a sudden the hapless teens see someone in the driver's seat that isn't the father in question.

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The man in the seat is a calm but also very intimidating presence that says zero words to any of them but quickly sprays the girls in the back with some sort of knockout spray as soon as they appear as though they are going to try to get out. The other girl at first hesitates and it appears as though he is going to leave her be and just let her ride but then she makes a bad move, slowly, and she has the same fate as her friends.

When they wake up they are locked in a room that is spacious but is clearly a prison of sorts. When they do hear someone coming they are greeted by a calm, stoic, and straight to the point sort of person that was the same person that was driving the car, or so it would appear.

A bit later, they hear arguing in the other room and the door opens and there is the same guy, but wearing a dress and speaking like a woman who refers to herself as "Miss Patricia"

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Patricia is considerably nicer than the man who was there before and speaks in a totally different manner. They are, over the next few days, introduced to several other personalities played by the same person but they are all distinctly different.

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I really admired this about James because he's Scottish, so for him doing an American accent at all is a bit of a chore that requires thought and now he has to do many different characters and most of them have distinct Jersey or Philadelphia accents that if you live in the USA, you recognize immediately and he does a great job with them.

While James didn't write the scrip the way that he handles the roles of the little child "Hedwig" and the stoic adult "Dennis" are particularly impressive. Sometimes he will change which persona he is at the time mid-scene and to me this is just some amazing acting. While James wasn't nominated for an Oscar, he was nominated for a bunch of other things and won a few of the minor ones, which I think he deserved.

The other actresses in this film do their jobs well also, but the real star of the show is McAvoy himself who even underwent a major physical transformation for the shooting of some key scenes that I will not reveal why he needed to do this just yet. I'll let you find that out for yourself because it is pretty major part of the story but trust me, you will be impressed with his physical transformation that according to the notes took place over 3 months where he packed on nearly 20 lbs of lean muscle for the little bit of shooting.

This film was a triumphant financial success, pulling in nearly $300 million off of a very-well-spent $9 million budget. One of the things I liked most about this film is the plausible nature of everything that happens that is in stark contrast to most superhero or in this case villain stories where everything is just too far fetched as far as superpowers are concerned. This isn't Superman or Avengers, these are just normal people who for some reason, have some slight superpowers.

Should I watch it?

This is a great film even if you don't appreciate James McAvoy as much as I do. I think he is one of the best actors in his age range that we have available to us at the moment and unfortunately I think he has taken some poor roles that have lead to his inability to get better ones. Once you go X-Men prequel, it's kind of tough to bounce back from that.

Anyway, this is a super-hero thriller for people that don't like super-hero films. It's excellent and holds your attention all the way through. It is rare that I will ever see a film and not at least poke some holes in the plot or acting but there really isn't any of that in this and it all seems quite possible. There is only one bad actor in the entire thing and honestly, they should have fixed that and if you watch it, you'll know it when you see it but thankfully he is only in 2 scenes and then we never see him again.

_{Split can be streamed as part of a Prime, CinemaxAppleTV+, or HBO Max subscription. As usual you can rent or buy it for a few dollars almost anywhere else. It is NOT on Netflix}