This is an interesting loose adaptation of H.G. Wells's "The Invisible Man" with the feel of a theatrical play - actually the script could be adapted for a play with little work. Apparently filmed mostly on location at or around Stanford University, with a minimalist cast of 4 actors. Also very obviously done on a minimal budget; nevertheless the look is "modest" rather than "cheap" in my view. The cinematography is very good.
Besides the overall theme of a scientist named Griffin researching invisibility and testing it on himself, the script has little in common with the original book. Rather - and again like a play - it focuses on the interactions between the main characters, in particular Griffin himself and his assistant, Faith, This is a film focused on actors and dialogue rather than action or special effects, which I see as a positive but obviously many will disagree.
The two main actors - Jonathan Le Billon and Sarah Navratil - are not exactly household names but they are experienced actors, and I thought they were pretty good. In particular, Le Billion plays Griffin as a sort of stereotypical awkward and tormented scientist in a way that is convincing. Sometimes I think he stepped slightly into a caricature of the stereotype but I think that was what the script was asking for. Sarah Navratil, a very attractive actress, did manage to persuade me that her character, Faith, was actually attracted to Griffin (which seemed unlikely at first) and there was real chemistry between the actors. Far less convincing was the notion that she was having a serious relationship with the university professor Steven, played by T J Sloan. His role is "the girl's current douche boyfriend", a guy who you are supposed to dislike, but it never became convincing to me that Faith would seriously date him in the first place. However, although he is an unpleasant and annoying character, he is not a true "villain" and so is a more complex character than one could have expected.
The plot and its two or three subplots are not really that interesting in my opinion. But Billion's and Navratil's acting kept me interested from start to finish,
8 out of 21 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
