Reviews: Movies & Music

MAX WEISS ON NEW FILMS AND LYDIA WOOLEVER ON NEW MUSIC

The Invisible Man

Directed by Leigh Whannell; starring Elisabeth Moss; rated R

Does anyone give better struggle face than Elisabeth Moss? The actress expertly suffers her way through Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and she once again puts her uncannily expressive talents to use in The Invisible Man. As the film opens, it’s the middle of the night and Cecilia (Moss) is lying next to her lover in a sleek but eerily remote mansion. She gently moves his hand off of her so as not to awaken him. Is she merely being considerate? It soon becomes clear that she’s not just getting up for a bathroom run—— she’s escaping the house and has been planning it for a while. An overnight bag is already packed and at the ready, she knows the codes to all the security cameras, and she’s even drugged her boyfriend, Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), with diazepam. This scene perfectly sets up the tone of the film as she tiptoes around the mansion, trying to not make any noise, casting furtive glances at the one video feed of Adrian asleep in his bed. We feel the creeping tension and dread with each step.