The Invisible (2007)

"Ghost With Troubled Teens"

PRO: ACT;
CON: PLOT;
The movie does a great job in the first Act 1 setting up the characters; infusing them with personality and giving us sympathy for them. Some of it is a bit heavy-handed, but it works, and efficiently.

One lesson a screenwriter could learn from a movie like this is that a writer must be conscious of what previews and promotions are likely to tell the viewer before they watch the movie. A bit of the second act is spent watching the protagonist catch up with what the viewer was almost explicitly told in previews. This actually didn't take up a lot of time, but it felt like a long time.

Another lesson is that a movie can be ruined by faulty, dishonest promotion. I see this all of the time and 'The Invisible' is another victim. It is sold as a Stir of Echoes / Sixth Sense type of super-natural thriller but has more in common with 'Ghost'. I came in expecting a thriller, but there are few thrills and the plot itself is a bit shaky.

As a drama, I found the character development in Acts 2 and 3 not entirely convincing. The characters have clear cut start and end points, but their journeys have something to be desired.

This movie kinda works as an super-natural drama, but I'd rent Ghost instead: C

Bonus Note: I watched the deleted scenes and they left out an important dinner sequence with his Mother. It isn't very long and explains an important decision later in Act 1. Some of the stuff did need to go, but the last deleted scene should have stayed in. It has dramatic impact.