Sometimes a film comes along and is that perfect cornucopia of luck, talent, timing and tenacity. The Invisible Man from Universal and Blumhouse Productions is that film for the first frame of 2020.
It features a collective of artists working at the top of their game—such as the always electric Elisabeth Moss—working a story crafted with such creativity that the film pops on all cylinders for every single moment of its haunting landscape.
Born on the pages of HG Wells (War of the Worlds), The Invisible Man has such a cull that there have been six cinematic incarnations of the iconic author’s work since his book debuted in 1897. Readers and movie fans are equally compelled by the science fiction premise of an individual being able to make themselves invisible and what exactly would arise from that endeavor. The latest comes along at a time that is ripe for his tale for wildly different reasons than any that existed previously.
In the middle of our long overdue #MeToo movement, audiences have been gifted the ultimate female empowerment movie moment to match the fervor brewing as women garner the courage to speak up about their tough history where previously was mostly crickets. This outcry saw one of its first victories recently when Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of two felony sex charges that could land him in jail for the remainder of his days.
Writer-director Leigh Whannell has masterfully crafted a supremely entertaining thriller that grabs you by the lapels. The filmmaker’s The Invisible Man sticks to you—haunts you even, long after those credits stopped rolling. His screenplay is ripe with metaphors and character development of its lead that is one of the better female roles to come along this year. The seismic promise that was witnessed with the spellbinding Upgrade (2018) and greatness was teased in 2015 with Insidious: Chapter 3 comes to fruition with the first truly successful and quality Universal Movie Monster movie since Brendan Fraser swashbuckled his way onto screens in 1999.
Those iconic, so-called, Universal Classic Monsters movies include some legendary spooks, most notably Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and Dracula. For decades, the famed Hollywood studio churned out a slew of films featuring those monsters. Sometimes, they even appeared in the same movie, like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man way back in 1943.
Universal’s high hopes for a restart to their former money printing machine crashed and burned in 2017 when the Tom Cruise starring Mummy fell on deaf ears. Startled and taken aback from such a high profile bomb, the studio must have thanked their lucky stars that they had the foresight to purchase the brainchild of producer Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions. Blum has an intense creative vision and his company possesses a filmmaking talent pool that time has proven to be not only excellent with its quality but downright prolific. With Whannell, they get a filmmaker who is wildly inventive, possesses a vast and epic imagination and most importantly, has been mentored by one of Blumhouse’s first truly awesome artists, James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring and of course Annabelle and its films).
The Invisible Man 2020 finds Moss portraying Cecilia. Without a single drop of backstory or premise establishing, Whannell launches into his horror show as we meet Cecilia. She’s in bed. It’s 3 in the a.m. and she could not be more serious. Slowly and deliberately, she tosses back the sheets to reveal a male arm that is resting at her waist. “C,” as her friends call her, slowly gets out of bed and proceeds methodically and meticulously to get out of this multi-million dollar seaside mansion. The supremely talented actress delivers everything viewers require to be cognizant of as we head down into Whannell’s stunning rabbit hole.
This is clearly an abusive relationship and as she finally reaches the street, our hearts are pounding. Where’s her ride?! Finally, a pair of headlights appear on the horizon as Cecilia senses someone getting closer to her coming from the house. As she hops in her sister Emily’s (Harriet Dyer) car, the older sister believes she has gotten away from her emotional, psychological and physical oppressor. In The Invisible Man trailer we see what happens next and it doesn’t soften the shockwaves to the system one bit. As Harriet puts her car in gear, C’s soon-to-be ex, Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) smashes the passenger’s window, sis slams on the gas and our heroines are gone.
That moment before the car window’s glass breaks … that moment is indicative of the entire modus operandi of Whannell in weaving this frightening and psychologically monstrous web. Just when the audience believes it can take a deep breath, bang! He hits us with a storytelling curveball or sends his narrative in another direction. Predictability is the death knoll for any film, but particularly those that reside in the thriller/horror avenue. There is not a single milligram of storytelling certainty in anything the auteur gives us with The Invisible Man.
Moss is mesmerizing and gives the most explosively astute performance. After last year’s Her Smell, she now has gone two-for-two in roles where the entire picture firmly lands on her shoulders. Her Cecilia is no pushover. Whannell gifts his actress a script that paints an accurate picture of how a soul would find themselves practically trapped in a relationship with ferocious fear that any attempt of an exit would be met with dire consequences that could easily be fatal. Her command of the material gives viewers wave upon wave of tsunami-like power, interwoven with a grounded emotive narratives that works that emotional ebb and flow that is the hallmark of every single renowned horror-thriller that exists.
Long before Mad Men made her a star, the actress was turning in work that was ever-increasing in prowess, from Girl, Interrupted with Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder to Get Him to the Greek with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. But it was something about her turn in last year’s Her Smell that blew the talent doors wide open. Now with The Invisible Man, she has elevated herself to some elite heights that, wildly, feel like Moss could still go ever higher. There is a bodaciously broad range of emotive elements that the two-time Golden Globe winner emits in Whannell’s instant classic. She weaves through them all with the most remarkable of efforts that elevates a stupendous picture to some seriously rare air.
The actress already had our full unadulterated compassion—all culled from those opening movie moments. But she builds on that and methodically crafts a characterization that is inspiring. By the time our story appears to have reached its apex, dramatically, both Moss and her director dig deep and elevate our connection to this breathtaking dramatic landscape even further.
After exiting the theater, a thought struck, and I cannot shake it. Nor, do I want to … it’s simple, really. The question of whether Moss and Oscar will become close pals is absolutely more of a when, not if.
Filmmaker Whannell has truly honed his craft and the impression is given that he has merely scratching the surface of his potential—and that’s scary (in a good way). The Australian has a stellar list of writing credits that has shown growing promise exponentially with each passing script. From Saw through Insidious and The Conjuring movies, right up to his wildly inventive Upgrade, the storyteller has a firm command on his gifts and utilizes them in such a way that it recalls a certain film master, Alfred Hitchcock. There have been hints steadily through his career that his literary prowess borders on Hitchcockian—particularly Upgrade. With The Invisible Man, there is an undeniable sense that ole Hitch would have greatly cherished the thrills and spills of Whannell’s latest.
Who knows if this recharges Universal’s idea of a “Monsters” universe, a la Avengers. That is neither here nor there for viewers. This is just an absolute blast of a time in the theater that seems harder and harder to achieve with this milieu. The Invisible Man may not be able to be seen by the naked eye. But what Whannell and company have achieved will be seen by countless souls for generations with utter and unflinching delight. Well, actually there will be much flinching as those frights and scares leave their mark on your psyche.
Lastly, it seems strange to call a film where a woman gets violently stalked by a man she literally cannot see, inspiring. But it is … every single ounce. Moss has delivered a character who every woman can aspire to and every man can appreciate wholeheartedly and not want to mess with one iota. Her panache comes through as fierce, but it is earned. In this era of women, finally, feeling safe enough to speak up—thanks to those tried and true strength in numbers—and demand to be heard, The Invisible Man is entertainingly emblematic while illustrating that our antagonist may not be seen, but our heroine is blindingly bright.
Grade: A-