Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Child psychologist Carter Nix is a loving and caring family man, but under this appearance lies a dark and troubled past. Grappling with the consequences of this past on his own psyche and the influence of his returning father and violent brother Cain, Carter becomes involved in a series of murders and kidnappings. Meanwhile, his wife Jenny rekindles an old love affair, placing herself in the crosshairs of her increasingly unstable husband.
Brian De Palma's psychological thriller is a stylishly crafted but narratively messy entry in the multiple-personality genre. The cinematography is the clear standout — De Palma deploys his signature Hitchcockian flourishes (split-screens, elaborate tracking shots, expressionistic angles) with genuine flair, including a bravura unbroken long take. The plot is ambitious in its layering of dissociative identity disorder and childhood trauma but collapses under its own convolutions, veering into campy absurdity; it works more as a guilty pleasure than a tight thriller. Acting is serviceable — John Lithgow commits fully to the multiple roles and elevates the material, but the supporting cast is unremarkable. Novelty is moderate: the film is distinctly De Palma in voice but treads well-worn Hitchcock homage territory and MPD-thriller ground already explored more effectively elsewhere. The ending, while suitably twisted, feels rushed and slightly unsatisfying given the buildup.