Movie Review: ‘The Invisible Man’ Shines A Light On Domestic Violence

by | Mar 1, 2020 | Featured, Movie Reviews, Movies | 0 comments


For those to young to remember, the first iteration of ‘The Invisible Man’ was actually created way back in 1897 by H. G. Wells and then adapted into a film for the first time in 1933. Since then, there have been too many iterations to really waste the time on. The first one that I saw was actually ‘Hollow Man’ with Kevin Bacon, but I’ve caught a number of the retro films since that time and none of them have ever been particularly special. Certainly not frightening.

Which is why it was a bit of a surprise to experience just how good this latest remake is. Who would have thought that reshaping the tale as a parable on abusive relationships would also increase the fear factor. Well, writer and director Leigh Whannell apparently did and his instincts were spot on. It also helps that he cast Elizabeth Moss in a roll that really requires an actress with a diverse skill set.

If I’m honest, when this film was over, I wasn’t thinking about the ramifications of abusive relationships as much as I was thinking about how ridiculous it is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is almost certain to ignore a performance like this. It is just a travesty that highly versatile performances like this one or the brilliant performance Lupita N’yongo gave in ‘Us’ are so routinely ignored because of their genre.

Still, everyone should give Elizabeth Moss the credit she deserves here. She is phenomenal in this film and she is in almost every scene. In fact, the movie actually starts with her leaving her vicious lover Adrian and we never have to see anymore than his punching a window to feel the history of her abuse. We don’t really even clearly see Adrian’s face. He is a manifestation of the violence he’s committed against women and Elizabeth Moss’s Cecilia is the face of that violence.

So much of this film is just seen through Moss’s face and she delivers fear that is palpable. After I got done being a little irritated about the fact that this move was unlikely to get Oscar love, I really thought about the difficulty women face when leaving a violent relationship. This film may be a genre horror film and it may be directed by a horror director. Yet, the real fear comes from something that audiences will find completely tangible. And that’s the thing that will last long after the credits roll.

Nathan Ligon