KEVIN HAS 23 DISTINCT PERSONALITIES. THE 24TH IS ABOUT TO BE UNLEASHED.Â
Teenager Casey Cook (Anya Taylor-Joy) and two of her classmates are abducted by Kevin (James McAvoy) who turns out to have multiple personalities; some of them talk about the imminent arrival of a monster… One has to admire M. Night Shyamalan; he always takes great risks and sometimes he falls on his face and sometimes he gets away with his set-ups and twists. This thriller is an example of the latter, providing McAvoy with what must be an actor’s wet dream. He’s funny and scary as he jumps from one personality to the next and Shyamalan builds a high degree of tension, turning the story into an empowerment fantasy for Taylor-Joy’s character. The last scene is a treat for the director’s fans.
2017-U.S. 117 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Marc Bienstock, Jason Blum, M. Night Shyamalan. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Cast: James McAvoy (Kevin), Anya Taylor-Joy (Casey Cook), Betty Buckley (Karen Fletcher), Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Kim Director. Cameos: Bruce Willis, M. Night Shyamalan.
Trivia: Joaquin Phoenix was allegedly considered for the lead. Followed by Glass (2019).
Last word: “The format of doing these smaller movies and using newish people is so exciting for me. That excites me. Michael Gioulakis, ‘Mikey G,’ who [shot] ‘It Follows’, he came and lived at my house in Philly for, like, a month. I storyboard every shot and then redo it and redo it in drafts to get the visual script. And he was down for anything. I’m very influenced by independent and foreign cinema, so we were watching a lot. In particular, ‘CachĂ©’ was a big deal for me. ‘Dogtooth’.” (Shyamalan, The A.V. Club)
