I’ll begin by saying that the plot of the new film is so utterly different from the original novel that I was really surprised it was listed as based on the H.G. Wells book at all. Now I just looked it up and saw the infamous Hollow Man also had such a credit.
Hmm. I guess H.G. Wells, as far as people know, completely invented the idea of a person who can’t be seen by others and anyone who makes a story about such a man is obliged to give Wells credit.
Now I wonder if Hollow Man should be included in this series of posts.
Naw, I really don’t wanna relive that film!*
I did love this one though! I’ve talked before about how stagy early sound movies were due to technical limitations, but four years into the sound era that time had passed! In terms of how polished it was, The Invisible Man was much more Bride of Frankenstein than Dracula.
The filmmakers used the resources at their disposal to tell an incredible story. The villain protagonist, Jack, has turned invisible thanks to a successful science experiment of his, but the most crucial chemical used warped his mind, to the point where he has become sociopathic.
You could argue there’s one conflict or two. First Jack and his lover Flora seek to be reunited, although that story isn’t exactly moving since they don’t get any intimate time together. Flora mainly serves the plot as a glimmer of hope, as the many law enforcement officers and townsmen in the film provide the main conflict. Quite simply, they have to find a way to stop Jack, who’s becoming a psychotic killer. Good luck to anyone trying to get the best of an invisible man though, let alone one who already had a genius mind beyond most people’s wildest imaginations. This all leads to an utterly haunting conclusion that reminded me of the later movie The Picture Of Dorian Gray.
Tying it all together is a hypnotic performance by Claude Rains. I mean that – you will be in a trance because his work is so mesmerizing. Often having nothing but his voice to work with, he is still so frightening that he can give you nightmares. I knew Rains mainly from his incredible work as Senator Paine in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. He was also the villain in Hitchcock’s Notorious and the man in Casablanca with whom Rick began the famous “beautiful friendship”. Now I see more than ever how amazing he was. It’s really too bad that in spite of four nominations he never won an Academy Award.
Nonetheless, how about you honor the spirit of him and everyone else who worked on this first-rate movie by watching it?!
Bottom line: <slow applause>
*Except for one part. It ventured into “so bad’s it’s funny” territory sometimes, including a part when Josh Brolin’s character’s abdominal wounds are covered up by Elisabeth Shue’s character with duct tape! I spent the rest of the movie joking with the person sitting next to me about what else she could use: “Scotch tape…masking tape…staples… thumbtacks…paper clips…hot glue…a glue stick…Elmer’s School Glue”.
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