THE INVISIBLE

by Amanda Perez

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, criminality, sensuality and language -- all involving teens.
Suggested Ages: 13+
Released in Theaters: April 27, 2007
Reel Rating: 2 out of 4 Reels

The Invisible’s trailer led me to believe I was going to see a movie about a guy trying to solve his own murder. But really, the movie is about two teenagers coming to terms with their inner demons.

Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin) is that guy in school who we all wanted to know. He’s handsome, smart, sensitive, a good friend, but also a tortured poet. Nick is in a constant struggle for a real conversation with his cold-hearted mother, Diane (Marcia Gay Harden). But Diane’s pain from Nick’s father’s death has left a great distance between her and her son.

Nick’s life is stuck in a state of limbo. He’s not going forward while enrolled in an unchallenging school. And he’s not able to truly address the past because his mother is incapable of talking to him about his father’s death. By the looks of The Invisible’s preview, the entire movie is about Nick. But to my surprise, about 50% of the movie is about his co-star, who's in the trailer for about three seconds if you look hard enough.

Annie Newton (Margarita Levieva) is the school bully who is constantly at odds with Nick. Like The Invisible’s trailer, Annie is not what she appears to be. Always hiding behind a beanie or a hoodie, Annie is tormented by the death of her mother. She finds temporary solace in taking her aggression out on whomever gets in her way. This rage and a misunderstanding between Annie and Nick leads to Nick’s death. Or what appears to be his death. At this point, it's 30 minutes into the film and we've already figured out who killed Nick. Actually, there's never really a question as to who killed him, like the trailer would have you believe.

Nick leaves his limbo of an existence only to be thrust into purgatory. Left wandering the earth and invisible to the living, Nick realizes he is neither dead nor alive. Like something out of one of Nick’s poems, the only person who can help him get out of purgatory is the one who put him there in the first place. The only way Nick can save himself is to contact Annie to locate and resurrect his body. Annie and Nick become closer during this time. He is able to see the sensitive girl behind the skullcap. And she becomes connected to Nick’s personal belongings and poetry.

THE WRAP-UP: Harden’s portrayal of the waspy mother is a bit too dramatic. In fact, it turns her performance 180 degrees to comical at certain points. It sometimes seems as if she is doing a Stepford Wives sketch on Saturday Night Live.

The rainy atmosphere, metal soundtrack, and teen angst brought me back to a certain type of movie -- the type that seemed to be taken over by stars from the former WB network. The Invisible is reminiscent of the 1990s teen thriller type films like Fear and The Craft.

This film is definitely not as twisted as The Craft and nowhere near as good as Fear. But it’s nice to see effort to bring back the lost genre of the 1990s teen thriller. It seems as if the trailer drastically changed the storyline because it was obvious that the movie didn't have much potential. Don’t spend you money seeing The Invisible in the theaters or even renting it on DVD. You’re better off waiting until it’s on basic cable.

SCORE: 2 out of 4 Reels.

Amanda Perez is a freelance journalist from Orange County, California. Email her at aperez949@hotmail.com.

JANE'S REEL RATING SYSTEM:

One Reel – Pathetic. Even the Force can't save it.
Two Reels – Tolerable. Coulda been a contender.
Three Reels – Thought-provoking. Something to talk about.
Four Reels – Wow! The stuff dreams are made of.

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