The Invisible Man is Very Good

         G ll p d    ff c  l R t ng: Y   c n’t s   m 

    The Invisible Man starring Elizabeth Moss of Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale fame unfortunately came out at the beginning of March earlier this year. It made the most of the couple of weeks it was in theaters and then capitalized with the on-demand home market, but I don’t think it reached as many people as it could have. And that’s a shame because this is simply a well-made, tense, thrilling film. Let’s discuss.

          I absolutely love the opening of this film. The title credits are cleverly invisible and only briefly appear when waves crash over them. We switch to a dark and beautiful interior of a beach house where Moss and boyfriend Adrian are asleep. Without any dialogue or backstory, we’re dropped in this suspenseful moment where we know enough to realize the stakes—Moss is in an abusive relationship and has to escape. It’s not easy considering all the measures that tech mogul Adrian has implemented, but Moss manages to leave, and her sister drives off with Moss in her car.

          Oh, we’ve reached a new paragraph where I should move on to a new topic. Well, I’m not done praising this sequence. Director Leigh Whannell, who previously impressed me with Upgrade, isn’t afraid to go against convention. The only sound during Moss’s escape is the waves crashing, and we never get close-up shots. Not only does this show the beautiful production design, but it also forces the viewer to worry that something might be lurking around the corner and we just can’t see it yet.

          Okay fine, we can move on now. Moss stays at her sister’s boyfriend’s house (played by the great Aldis Hodge that some people may have watched in the show Underground). Hiding out and refusing to step outside, it’s not too long until Moss’s sister comes with news that Adrian has committed suicide. Just as Moss finally begins the process of moving on from the constraints of this relationship, she can’t help the feeling that Adrian is still there somehow. Without Aldis Hodge or the star of A Wrinkle in Time noticing any presence, Moss is slowly more and more tormented by the ever-growing presence of a somehow invisible Adrian. These sequences work really well too because in any given wide shot where Moss goes about daily activities, you think Adrian might be there, but you don’t know for sure. And if he is there, you don’t know where.

          The unrest grows and -spoiler alert- stuff happens. The film spends a little too much time in the middle of the film dealing with a sleep-deprived Moss that looks utterly crazy because she knows Adrian is still alive and no one believes her. I will say that she ends up at a psychiatric ward, but I won’t talk about anything else because the film picks back up and is great again.

          This film is R-rated, but it doesn’t rely on gore or cheap jump scares. There’s true tension in wondering where Adrian is, and he proves to be a menacing presence. Both Moss and Hodge are great, and I thoroughly recommend this film to anyone looking for some good thrills. Considering all the delayed releases and the fact that I haven’t been able to watch Tenet yet, this might be my favorite movie of the year so far.

 

In Brief:

I watched Last Christmas. Henry Golding is effortlessly charming and there’s some good moments, but this is pretty middle-of-the-road fare.

Will Smith does a good job in his earlier work in Ali, but the film is also a little bloated. But it’s still a quality film.

I actually just recently watched School of Rock for the first time, and I wish I had seen it sooner because it was so good.

Pretty sure Mulan will be streaming without a price tag on Disney+ in like November or December, so if you were able to wait through its initial delay, I don’t see why you couldn’t also wait for it now because no way am I paying $30 on top of a subscription. Also wasn’t too excited for the film to begin with partly due to huge Disney live-action fatigue.