The Invisible Man: Did the Film Live Up to Its Title?

By Autumn Matthews

To be honest, The Invisible Man was a horrible film. The trailer definitely tricked people and made them think that this film was going to be great by seeming dramatic and interesting. In the trailer, the protagonist Cecilia, (Elisabeth Moss) was being dragged by the invisible man, who is her husband Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). I thought it was that’s how they tricked the people (including me) into thinking the movie was enticing. They just used that scene to grab the attention of the audience but it didn’t at all. They lacked attention grabbers and each scene was predicted because of the way the film was structured.  It was the worst two hours of my life.

As for the plot, it was great but the actors were off. I never understood why Adrian was so abusive towards Cecilia when they lived in the middle of nowhere literally nowhere, just aside the ocean. I also didn’t understand how in the world could this man fake his own death, then make himself invisible. These elements made the film very confusing. I can’t believe I sat through that entire film and didn’t get up and leave. 

It seemed like it was more of a low budget film instead of a million-dollar film. The clothing and makeup were horrible on the actors. What a waste of a $12.75 ticket!  I wouldn’t even go see the film again if someone paid me money for it. I wish the producers could have spent more time in production because clearly the film did not make any type of sense to me. 

I was really trying to wrap my head around some of the things that were shown in the film and I did not understand them. Again, how can a man be invisible? That’s impossible. I know they were trying to spread awareness for domestic violence but this film was not the way. They did a horrible job trying to spread that awareness. It needed more scenes with Cecilia and Adrian so viewers could get a better understanding of why she was so afraid of her husband. As a writer, it is important to balance out both showing and telling. 

And don’t get me started on the ending of the film, very confusing. Cecilia called 9-1-1 but the police never came. Then, her cop friend, James Lanier, (Aldis Hodge) didn’t call for backup. I feel like the writer’s focus less on reality and more on fantasy. It’s as if everything was a fantasy and when Adrian made himself invisible, we should have had a better background story on why he made himself invisible in the first place. 

Also, I didn’t like Elisabeth Moss’s performance in the film one bit. Normally I am used to being so connected with a protagonist in a film but with Cecilia, I didn’t feel any connection at all. Overall, what I got from the film was the idea that women are crazy because of their husbands. As a rate for The Invisible Man, I give it a 2.5 for effort. I suggest everyone not to be like me and waste money to see a film that was so terrible and confusing.