The Invisible Man (2020) — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
In a world where Hollywood likes to remake films that are only 20 or 30 years old or even foreign movies that were only released a year or two ago, it was inevitable that we would receive another rendition of The Invisible Man at some point. This story has been around for decades and even over a century now. The original novel of the same name was written and published by H. G. Wells in 1897. Since then, numerous television shows, movies, and similar concepts like the film Hollow Man have been flooding the screens. Even though the classic 1933 film still holds up as a great story, the concept has always felt a little cheesy to me. Well, this film does a great job of making this idea feel fresh because I was glued to the screen from start to finish. Here’s why 2020's The Invisible Man worked so well for me.
The Invisible Man follows Cecilia as she escapes an abusive relationship and takes shelter at a friend's house. After some time passes, she is given word that her significant other has died. Once at ease, she slowly begins to become victimized by him again, but she can’t see him. Convinced that she is being terrorized by him and that he has found a way to make himself invisible, she is seen as an insane person by everyone in her life. Without ruining anything, the twist of this movie makes it feel very much like a film that would be released in 2020. The Invisible Man has been revamped for the modern era and I believe it was done in a very satisfying way.
Movies like this, especially in the genre that it’s in, relies heavily on the central character. Thankfully, Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia delivers an incredibly devoted performance, sucking you into her traumas and heartbreaks. Her character goes through more in the course of a few days than anyone should have to endure in an entire lifetime and Moss sells that from start to finish. Yes, the story and situations around her require a lot of acting, but there is a particular moment that happens in this film that had my jaw on the floor due to how surprising it was, and her performance took it to another level. The amount that she emotes throughout the course of this film blew me away.
Stefan Duscio does some remarkable work as the Cinematographer here as well. His work on Upgrade was really solid and I even thought The Mule was shot really well, but this is truly his moment in the sun. The way the camera moves to show an empty area in a room, making it obvious that someone is probably standing there was impeccable here. On top of that, there are some great wide angles that really stood out and helped explain each situation, without saying a single word. The standouts here were truly the performance by Elisabeth Moss, as well as the camerawork, headed by Ruscio.
In the end, The Invisible Man is great for many reasons, a couple of which would ruin the film if I got into them, so I’ll just let you experience those. The score by Benjamin Wallfisch, who is definitely not a stranger to working on a great project, nicely blends the classic feel of old horror, with the loud build-ups that modern horror movies usually have. I found myself immersed in this film from start to finish. The main twist had me slightly underwhelmed at first, but it grew on me and won me over by the end. Overall, I have a few minor complaints, but I pretty much loved this movie otherwise. I highly recommend checking it out, unless violence and horror is not your thing.
Rating: 4.5/5
Normally this is where I share the trailer, but I will refrain on this one because those trailers do show a lot of the main moments.
