Prime Video: One of the best thrillers of recent years is coming to Amazon

M. Night Shyamalan is a director who provokes debate. If the first part of his career – almost – everyone agrees, the continuation is divided. However, since 2015, with The Visit, he has made a strong comeback in the hearts of the public and critics alike. A year later, the filmmaker continues his good momentum with a thriller that revives one of his old obsessions: The Split.

With this project, he tells the story of a man torn between his 24 personalities. M. Night Shyamalan is based on the true story of Billy Milligan, an American who was imprisoned in the 70s for a series of rapes and suffered from dissociative identity disorder.

To interpret the role of this great fortune, he first turns to Joaquin Phoenix, an actor with whom he has already filmed. signs and The village. Finally, he will be replaced by James McAvoy. On screen, the Brit reveals the full extent of his talent and offers a dizzying performance.

While the film states that Kevin Wendell Crumb’s character has 24 personalities, M. Night Shyamalan chooses to show only nine. There’s Dennis, a rigid, hygiene-addicted man who preys on young girls; Hedwig, a nine-year-old boy with hair on his tongue, or Patricia, an old woman full of reason.

“I approached this role like any role, except I had to prepare nine times“, explain James McAvoy on AlloCine when the movie comes out On the set, M. Night Shyamalan allows his interpreter to find himself and hesitate with the advantage of long takes. A method that allowed the actor to remember his theatrical experience.

Many risks taken by the director pay off. With a budget of nine million dollars, division reported 278 worldwide. In France, the film attracted more than 1.7 million viewers in cinemas. That success spawns a sequel, Glass, which extends Split’s final surprise—a surprise that’s best left unrevealed.

division Available on Amazon Prime Video.