What could’ve been another flat, hollow re-boot of a once-glorious concept turns out to be a darn fine exercise in creative film making in ‘The Invisible Man’ – and the key ingredient is a shift in perspective.
Written and directed by ‘Saw’ writer Leigh Whannell, the gore is (for the most part) replaced by suspense by the bucket in this adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel. I’d even brand it less a horror and more of a thriller, although you can expect to feel more than a good case of the willies with ‘The Invisible Man’. In fact, this could be the don’t-see-this-one-alone gem of 2020.
Instead of focusing on the ‘mad scientist’ and brushing that individual with empathy, Whannell put the spotlight on Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss), someone NOT cursed by a disappearance clock, and the real victim of the story. At the beginning of the film, Cecilia manages to get away from her abusive husband, Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), escaping in the dead of night from their spacious (and especially spooky) Silicon Valley fortress. She spends the next few weeks, hiding out with her police officer friend (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter (Storm Reid), until news comes that Adrian has taken his own life, leaving his fortune to his wife. But the fact that there are certain conditions applied to the deal – namely Cecilia committing no crimes and remaining of sound mind – raise immediate red flags. And before you can say, “boo!”, it’s pretty obvious that an unseen presence is haunting her, almost daring Cecilia to crack.
Long story short…..Adrian, now invisible, continues his wrath of abusive behavior.
While ‘The Invisible Man’ does, at times, succumb to predictability, there’s a fresh approach – not just the premise, but the offbeat camera angles, tight editing, etc. – that raises the bar. And Moss is absolutely dynamite, throwing herself into the role with everything she has (which, if you’re not familiar with her work, is a LOT). Again, this could’ve been a clunky re-heating of a tired idea. But with some hard work and a very bold approach, it’s clear to see – this is a surprisingly good one.
