When I first saw the trailer for this film sometime late last year, I was hooked. The premise seemed fun, fresh and oozing with potential, and the release date of April 27th seemed ages away. After seeing the film last night in the theatre, I don't know whether to be pleased or disappointed. While The Invisible has a lot going for it, it takes a few huge missteps that dampen my overall enthusiasm.
The Invisible opens with a dream sequence that shows our protagonist Nick Powell (Justin Chatwell) at a going away party held in his honour by his mother (Marcia Gay Harden). He awakens, and we see that his relationship with his mother is nonexistent. They don't communicate, and they both seem to be having a hard time coping with the loss of his father. After helping a friend at school get rid of a group of bullies led by tomboy Annie Newton (brilliantly portrayed by Margarita Levieva), Nick is inadvertently thrown into a huge mix up that ultimately leads to him being beaten near to death and left for dead. It is in this state that he finds himself, existing ghost-like outside his body, in a race against time to help authorities find his body before he dies.
This movie does a few things right. For starters, the build up before the demise is perfectly set up and admirably paced. Also, the performances all around are solid, including a standout performance by Margarita Levieva as Annie. It is these two qualities that carry the film throughout. My main qualms have to do with it's incomplete and inconsistent resolution, and some cheesy plot contrivance that still leaves important questions unanswered. Goyer does a credible job in holding everything together for most of the duration, but doesn't close things off as effectively as I would have liked.
With this pretty even mix of pros and cons, I can not say that I didn't enjoy the film. Points are given for development, pacing and acting, and taken off for contrivance and a hideous resolution. My rating for this will probably fluctuate for awhile before I settle on my opinions, but overall I'd say it was worth watching. It's entertainment value is enough to give it a slight push over the average mark.
♥♦½ 6/10
© 2007 Kim Bartlett
The Invisible opens with a dream sequence that shows our protagonist Nick Powell (Justin Chatwell) at a going away party held in his honour by his mother (Marcia Gay Harden). He awakens, and we see that his relationship with his mother is nonexistent. They don't communicate, and they both seem to be having a hard time coping with the loss of his father. After helping a friend at school get rid of a group of bullies led by tomboy Annie Newton (brilliantly portrayed by Margarita Levieva), Nick is inadvertently thrown into a huge mix up that ultimately leads to him being beaten near to death and left for dead. It is in this state that he finds himself, existing ghost-like outside his body, in a race against time to help authorities find his body before he dies.
This movie does a few things right. For starters, the build up before the demise is perfectly set up and admirably paced. Also, the performances all around are solid, including a standout performance by Margarita Levieva as Annie. It is these two qualities that carry the film throughout. My main qualms have to do with it's incomplete and inconsistent resolution, and some cheesy plot contrivance that still leaves important questions unanswered. Goyer does a credible job in holding everything together for most of the duration, but doesn't close things off as effectively as I would have liked.
With this pretty even mix of pros and cons, I can not say that I didn't enjoy the film. Points are given for development, pacing and acting, and taken off for contrivance and a hideous resolution. My rating for this will probably fluctuate for awhile before I settle on my opinions, but overall I'd say it was worth watching. It's entertainment value is enough to give it a slight push over the average mark.
♥♦½ 6/10
© 2007 Kim Bartlett
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