Not-So-Hidden Metaphor
The Invisible is Nothing to See

The previews for The Invisible set it up as a mystery. A boy discovers that he has been murdered and must uncover the facts surrounding his own demise or he will never be a rest. It sounded a bit like a certain Patrick Swayze/Demi Moore movie, but I was willing to give it a shot. Instead of a remake of Ghost for the teen crowd, however, The Invisible is a very straightforward film of teen violence and forgiveness. The problem is, the film lacks the necessary hook to make it interesting.

The Invisible
Margarita Levieva (left) and Justin Chatwin star in an unusual story about life, murder, and afterlife in The Invisible. (Buena Vista, 2007)
Directed by: David S. Goyer
Written by: Mick Davis and Christine Roum, based on the novel Den Osynlige by Mats Wahl
Starring: Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Marquette, Alex O'Loughlin, and Callum Keith Rennie

Rated PG-13 (for violence, criminality, sensuality and language - all involving teens)
Running time: 97 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 3 out of 10.

Justin Chatwin plays Nick Powell, a high school senior from a privileged family. Nick has made enemies of the school criminal, a tomboy named Annie (Margarita Levieva), when trying to help out his friend Pete (Chris Marquette).

Annie is busted at school for having stolen property and she blames Pete. Pete, thinking that Nick is about to leave town for the summer, fingers his best friend. When Annie and her crew track down Nick, she beats him up and inadvertently causes him to fall and hit his head, apparently killing him.

Nick, however, doesn't realize what has happened. It isn't until he returns to school that he becomes aware of his ghostly situation. In an effort to help the authorities find his body, he must rely on the one person who can hear him: Annie, his murderer and unlikely ally.

As Nick follows Annie, he begins to learn about her horrible home life and the circumstances that have led her to make bad choices. He sees her less as a punk and more of a victim. They are the same, really, invisible to both each other and the world.

The fact that the story was teased as a murder mystery of sorts added to the letdown. Instead of a mystery, the story is told in linear fashion so that there is little suspense at all. The film becomes one of understanding and forgiveness, as Nick and Annie learn that they weren't all that different to begin with.

The story tries hard to hammer home this metaphor -- and it does. I had a headache from all the hammering. As we get to know Annie, she loses her tomboy exterior and Levieva's natural young beauty shines through. It's such an obvious trick, director David S. Goyer should be ashamed for pandering to audience sympathy in such a way. Instead of a mature thriller, the film becomes an after-school special.

The end of the film is such a complete mess, it makes me wonder if Goyer had any control over the finished production. The scene in which Nick uses Annie as a conduit to talk to his mother, becomes pointless by the end of the film. Likewise, Annie's fate is determined not by sacrifice, but rather what one can only assume is the most inept medical facility in the world.

Based on the Swedish young-adult novel Den Osynlige by Mats Wahl, The Invisible has the difficulty of being an adaptation of a novel and a translation of a foreign work. The film ignores both the mystery angle of the original story and a racism plotline that would have given the film more depth.