THE INVISIBLE
Canada, 2007, 101 minutes, Colour.
Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, Marcia Gaye Harden, Chris Marquette, Alex O' Loughlin, Callum Keith Rennie.
Directed by David S.Goyer.
The Invisible is based on the Swedish film of the same name. It has been adapted for a North American setting, a small town, a small community.
The central character is Nick, played by Justin Chatwin, an 18-year-old who has ambitions to go to London to a writing course. He becomes involved in the difficulties of his friend, Pete, and of his girlfriend. His blamed by Annie, a reckless student at school, involved in jewellery robbery, drug dealings and money extortion. She thinks he reported her to the police and so she and her friends bash him, she being very vicious, causing his death and his body being thrown into a well.
However, he is not entirely dead, becomes invisible, neither seen nor heard as he desperately tries to communicate, learning about what happened to him, watching his mother and her grief about his death. She is played by Marcia Gaye Harden.
The film spends a lot of time with Nick moving around, turning up everywhere, learning more about himself, unable to communicate until Annie herself is shot and becomes one of the invisibles, becoming conscious and enabling the authorities to find Nick’s body and help his revival.
1. The title? Expectations?
2. Ghost story, death experiences, near-death experiences? Purgatorial experiences?
3. The locations, the town, homes, the party, school, apartments, the dingy aspects of the town, the countryside, the dam? The musical score?
4. The focus on Nick, his age, birthday party, his ambitions in writing, to go to London, disagreeing with his mother, her forbidding it? His finishing school? His friendship with Pete? Pete and his difficulties, Nick stepping in, the clashes with Annie, the drug issues? At the party? The group bashing Nick, thinking that he had betrayed them to the police? The brutality, Annie and her viciousness, throwing him in the well?
5. Nick, seemingly still alive, yet invisible? His trying to make himself seen and heard, in the classroom, his having read the poem, his girlfriend and her response? The teacher? Waiting till he returned? The scenes with his mother? With Annie? His blaming her? And his puzzle about her kind reactions to her brother and caring for him? His accepting that he was not heard?
6. Pete, friendship, a weak character, his debts, the drugs, reliance on Nick? The confrontation with Annie and the thugs, his blaming Pete the phone call after they suspected him, Annie noticing him looking at her and the locker? The brutality? His participating in the attack on Nick? Worrying where the body was?
7. Diane, the detectives and their questions, and not expressing her emotions, the death of her husband, the love for her son, reading his poem? Her
concern about his body?
8. Annie, tough, her brutal stepfather, love for her little brother, her antisocial behaviour, at school, attitude towards Pete, towards Nick? The jewel robbery? The police, suspecting Pete, his involving Nick? Her relationship with Marcus, his being out of jail, love, going to see him at work, the issue of the body and its removal, the confrontation and her learning that Marcus had reported her to the police? The final confrontation, her being shot, becoming invisible and helping, death?
9. Marcus, criminal, relationship with Annie, the robbery, his work, wanting to preserve his reputation and parole, the body, clash with Annie, his death?
10. Pete, his being shot, his becoming one of the invisibles, interaction with Nick, Nick forgiving him?
11. Annie, shot, also becoming one of the invisibles? Trying to help Nick? Her consciousness, indicating where the body was? The dam and the water falling? The detectives and desperately rescuing the body?
12. Nick, his revival, his going to talk with Annie’s brother, going to London, resuming his life?
