What Happens in the Time Between Life & Death?
Written: Oct 18 '07 (Updated Oct 19 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Bang For The Buck |
 |
|
|
Pros: Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, Storyline
Cons: May be too dark of a movie for some
The Bottom Line: A dark movie that will pull you in and make you think.
|
|
|
| cmaw63's Full Review: The Invisible |
There wasn't a happy beginning. There was no happy middle. There was not a happy ending. It would seem that a movie with such dark overtones would turn a viewer away. Instead, it pulled me in and made me wonder if we truly ever know ourselves, let alone others.
Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin) is a bright teen planning his future. A future that includes going to London and leaving his controlling, emotionless mother, Diane (Marcia Gay Harden).
Annie Newton (Margarita Levieva) is a troubled teen that makes a fast buck by stealing, and selling the stolen goods to the kids at her school. She gets deeper and deeper into the trouble that she seems to enjoy.
The confrontation between Nick and Annie, and her gang, lead up to consequences beyond any that Annie could have imagined. Believing she killed Nick, Annie tries to go on with her life. A life that involves police, an ex-con boyfriend, and Nick. In a twist that Annie never expected she can hear Nick when no one else can. Caught between life and death Nick's soul makes a plea for Annie to do the right thing.
A Dark Movie
As I stated above there is no defining moment of happiness in this show. A strained mother/son relationship, a best friend selling out to save his own skin, a teenager lost in her own anger...it all asks the question how well do we really know ourselves and those around us?
Diane, the mother, has to lose her child before she can let her true feelings out. The best friend, Pete (Chris Marquette) suffers guilt over what he's done, but doesn't rectify it. Annie has to go beyond the point of no return to find out how good she really is. Nick has to linger in that time between life and death to find out the truth about each person and his perception of them.
The two teen actors, Justin Chatwin and Margarita Levieva, outdid any performance I have seen by an adult actor in recent memory. They were intense and seemed to know exactly what their characters needed and when. The one person I couldn't work up any sympathy for was Chris Marquette as Pete, Nick's best friend. He just didn't have me believing he was sorry about giving up his friend to save himself.
The director, David S. Goyer, with his use of light gave more emotion to an already emotional film. He knew how to use bright pulsing music and light to show Annie's internal chaos. He brought dark shadows to the screen, spotlighting where there was light and color. It lent a powerful effect to many of the scenes.
The Invisible won't appeal to a viewer that is looking for a bit of fluff entertainment. The deeper, more intense feel of the movie begs for the person watching it to understand and feel how each one has gone beyond what they can control and what each one hides from themselves and others. For 97 minutes I understood that there is no turning back for some, while others get a second chance.
***********
The DVD Extras include the usual scene selection and set up options. Two music videos, The Kill by 30 seconds to Mars and Taking Back Control by Sparta, are included. Sneak peeks at several movies coming to theaters and dvd, including National Treasure (Book of Secrets), Ratatouille, Pirates of the Caribbean (At World's End), can be viewed, also.
***********
Looking for more good movies? Check out CaptainD's Good Movies Write-Off page.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
cmaw63
|
 in Pets, Home and Garden, Books |
|
Member: Julie
Location: Illinois, USA
Reviews written: 307
Trusted by: 73 members
About Me:
Looking forward to my first grandbaby. She's due November 24!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.