Review | Fragmented

Tension and terror in a well-explained script

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It's virtually impossible to find someone who hasn't seen something driven by M. Night Shyamalan. With long as The sixth Sense, Closed body, Signals and The village on his resume, everyone has seen at least one film signed by him and certainly noticed that he likes to work on different subjects, usually focused on terror. The director joined the talented actor James McAvoy and launched Fragmented (Split), a work with a very promising premise, with a lot of psychological analysis and a hint of horror.

The plot presents us with Kevin (James McAvoy), a young man who has 23 personalities. Believing that a 24th, a beast, needs to emerge, he kidnaps three teenagers (represented by Anya Taylor- Joy, Haley Lu Richarson and Jessica Sula), as he believes they will be the key to unlocking this new personality.

Shyamalam's script is very well constructed, investing a lot in the psychological. The plot raises many questions, ranging from Kevin developing these personalities to the way the world deals with them, in addition to including the complicated childhood of one of the teenagers in the analyzes. Little tips appear throughout the film, so that in the end they come together and perfectly fit the entire plot.

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James McAvoy representing the child personality. /Image: Universal Pictures

Shymalam delivers a wonderful direction, which together with McAvoy's phenomenal acting, gives an incredible quality to the work. Strategic close-ups of protagonist changes and reasoned cuts set the tone of the production, heightening the suspense and highlighting needed information.

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James McAvoy represented the female personality.
Image: Universal Pictures

The entire cast manages to deliver convincing performances, particularly Anya Taylor-Joy, who gets the most tense scenes and doesn't show any difficulty performing them. However, it is obvious that the main highlight is James McAvoy. Even in the trailers you could already see that the actor was perfect in the role, but watching the film we see details that demonstrate that he really excelled, even the most subtle changes are apparent. McAvoy practically takes the film on his back, much of its origin is explained only with his changes of expression and it is his acting that manages to hold the viewer from beginning to end. It is noteworthy that, among the 23 personalities, James plays a methodical, a woman and a child, who leave us in doubt about having a laugh or being impressed by the wonderful acting.

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Anya Taylor- Joy in Split. /Image: Universal Pictures

The only caveat for the feature film is the exaggeration, Shymalam errs on the side at times, breaking the climate of apprehension by inserting typical horror elements, with some small clichés. The script manages to pick up later, explaining the events perfectly, but at this point the hypnotic tension has already been broken, damaging a little that wonderful atmosphere of tension that lasted for most of the plot.

To close with a flourish, the film delivers a surprise in the final scene, which manages to remove all doubts about the small errors mentioned above. Fragmented has a very interesting plot, but if that's not enough to convince you, James McAvoy's performance alone is worth the two hours in the movies.

Fragmented premieres on March 23 in Brazilian cinemas.

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