**_Eerie atmosphere and well-done scenes mixed with tedium and eye-rolling bits_**
A woman (Elisabeth Moss) escapes her abusive husband and their incredible coastal mansion outside of San Francisco, but she can’t help but suspect that her optics specialist spouse is manipulating things, unseen, which makes her seem crazy to others.
"The Invisible Man” (2020) is not a remake of the 1933 classic movie, which was based on HG Wells’ 1897 novel, but rather a totally new story in the modern day with a very different method of attaining invisibility. It starts in an artistic way with mysterious intrigue, similar to the excellent beginning of “Resident Evil” (2002) before morphing into a slow-burn flick about possible paranoia, reminiscent of the bulk of “Rosemary’s Baby.” Then there’s the emphasis on toxic masculinity and female empowerment with the addition of black man good, white man evil. I normally wouldn’t notice or mind, but it's just so glaring here it’s eye-rolling.
Moss is serviceable and fits the role, but her character is hampered by a perma-frown and Halloween eyes, which isn’t good for the viewer since she’s the focal point of the entire (overlong) story. As such, the film would've been more effective with someone more easy-on-the-eyes like Amy Adams, Rachel McAdams or ScarJo in the lead role, even JLaw.
The flick works up some good artistic mood, but it’s so slooow I can’t see it working on repeat viewings. Nevertheless, there are a couple of great scenes, like the shocking restaurant episode. Moreover, the basis for the invisibility is interesting, as well as believable, compared to a magical serum.
It runs 2 hours, 4 minutes (with 13 minutes of that being end credits). It was shot in New South Wales, Australia, including Sydney and the corresponding Disney Studios, as well as places south of there, like Kiama and the Headland House in Gerringong.
GRADE: C+
