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Movie Review: 'The Invisible Man' is a Weighty Thriller

Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man is a blockbuster with a conscience.

By Sean PatrickPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man is one of the most exciting movies of 2020. Released in February of 2020, the movie has not left my Top 5 movies of the year since it was released. Whannell has come into his own as a director since first debuting as the writer and star of the Saw franchise all the way back in 2004. Since then, he co-created the terrific Insidious horror franchise and went on to direct three terrific movies, Insidious Chapter 3, Upgrade and now, The Invisible Man.

The Invisible Man stars Elisabeth Moss as Cecillia. We meet Cecillia as she is slipping out of bed in some high end mansion. She’s being very careful not to wake the man sleeping next to her, her boyfriend, Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). Visual clues indicate that Cecilia has drugged Adrian to keep him asleep while she sneaks out. In a masterful piece of suspense, the scene of Cecilia’s escape is told visually with little sound or soundtrack and the tension is breathtaking.

Cecilia manages her escape, thanks in part to her late arriving sister, Emily (Harriet Dyer), and is taken to a non-descript suburb where a friend takes her in. James (Aldis Hodge) is a cop, and a long time friend of Emily and Cecilia. He and his daughter, Sydney (Storm Reid), have taken Cecilia in and watch over her while she struggles with her fear that Adrian will come looking for her. That fear appears to be a moot point when word comes that Adrian has taken his own life.

Adrian has also left Cecilia a small fortune but she has to claim it in person, at the office of Adrian’s shady brother Tom (Michael Dorman). Not long after claiming the money however, strange things begin to happen. Cecilia leaves a pan on the stove and it nearly catches the house on fire. Strange noises start occurring in Cecilia’s bedroom and eventually, it’s quite clear that someone has been in the house.

Cecilia is immediately convinced that Adrian is not dead and is menacing her but because no one else can see him, everyone thinks she’s losing her mind. The plot develops from there with more and more perilous encounters with this invisible entity. Is Adrian back from the dead? Is Adrian’s shady brother in on the plot? What about Adrian’s work in the defense industry? Could that be linked to the bizarre encounters afflicting poor Cecilia? Lot’s of good questions and great red herrings for a suspense thriller.

The Invisible Man is one of the best and most exciting suspense thrillers in many years. Leigh Whannell has crafted an air tight thriller that never leans back on well worn tropes. When you expect the movie to go left, it goes right, when you expect a zig, the movie zags. From beginning to end, The Invisible Man is a relentless thrill ride that will have you repeatedly holding your breath for the next bizarre and terrifying encounter.

The Invisible Man treats the subject of abuse with respect by showing how difficult it can be for the victim to escape their abuser. It’s using the metaphor of an invisible abuser as the stand in for how all encompassing abuse can feel for the person being abused. Even when the abuser isn’t present, the trauma of abuse can make it feel as if the abuse hasn’t stopped and the paranoia of further abuse can be paralyzing.

The movie has a relevance that matches the blockbuster excitement the movie generates. Audiences who see The Invisible Man will have a hard time shaking it afterward, especially Elisabeth Moss' haunting performance as Cecilia. All of that is packaged inside of a popcorn thriller from a writer-director at the absolute top of his game in Leigh Whannell.

The Invisible Man is one of the best movies of 2020.

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About the Creator

Sean Patrick

Hello, my name is Sean Patrick He/Him, and I am a film critic and podcast host for the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the annual Critics Choice Awards.

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