Superhero movies are a dime a dozen these days. What the filmmakers try to do with Griff the Invisible, however, is offer something different.
Griff (Ryan Kwanten) is a client relation representative by day. He is shy, withdrawn, and keeps to himself mostly in the office. He also gets picked on and bullied by coworkers, especially Tony (Toby Schmitz). Little do these people know, however, that Griff is a superhero by night. He takes order from "central office" and monitors local crimes. He's a true crime fighter.
But being a superhero has its price, and soon it becomes impossible for Griff to stay low-key without literally becoming invisible. So he tries to build an invisible suit. Meanwhile, he meets the girl Melody (Maeve Dermody) who his brother Tim (Patrick Brammall) is kind of dating. Soon, though, Melody becomes fascinated with Griff, for she, too, is not "normal."
It happens that Melody lives in her own world, too, and she is a scientist always trying to figure out the impossible. For example, she believes that if all the molecules align just the right way, a person can go through a solid object such as a wall or a door. When she realizes who Griff really is and what he's trying to do, she wants to help him make the invisible suit. And an unlikely romance develops between these two outcasts.
Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) gives an earnest performance very unlike his character in True Blood, for which the Australian actor is best known. As Griff, he is withdrawn, quiet, introverted, sensitive, but devious at the same time. Kwanten does a nice job disappearing in the character without relying on his usual sex appeal.
Maeve Derody (Black Water) is wonderfully odd as Melody. She plays the character with a slight awkwardness that doesn't make her a "crazy" character but you realize she is different anyway. She and Kwanten play off each other very well.
The supporting cast does an adequate job. Marshall Napier (The Water Horse) is solid as Griff's sympathetic boss and father figure. Toby Schmitz (Three Blind Mice) is fine as the office bully, if only a bit stereotypical and cliché. Patrick Brammall (Hawke) is affecting as Griff's adoring, protective older brother.
Writer-Director Leon Ford (Katoomba) takes an interesting approach telling this "superhero" tale. Before long, you realize something is off and not quite what it seems. Ford leaves little clues here and then, and then reveals Griff's secret quite bluntly, and the story takes on an odd and interesting twist. The audience is left to wonder where it is going and what will happen to these interesting characters.
That said, the screenplay and direction suffer from certain literary pitfalls that usually plagues new or independent filmmakers. The plot unfolds rather slowly and the structure is somewhat contrived -- clever for cleverness's sake, at times. The dialogue is rather dull at times, lacking the wittiness that could lift the by-and-large quiet story. What Ford succeeded, though, is creating intersecting characters with real motives and history, who make us care about them even after we know what really is going on with them.
I totally enjoyed the movie despite its flaws. It offers an interesting and off-the-wall take on the genre. At the core, it's a very human story about two people who, against all odds, connect with each other. It's also about unconditional love, which is refreshing without overt preaching. This independent film may be small and quiet, but it won't be invisible if you give it a chance.
Stars: Ryan Kwanten, Maeve Dermody, Marshall Napier, Toby Schmitz, Patrick Brammall, Anthony Phelan
Director: Leon Ford
Writer: Leon Ford
Distributor: Indomina
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and themes
Running Time: 90 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 6
Cinematography - 7
Music/Sound - 6
Editing - 6
Production - 7
Total - 7.0 out of 10.0
Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio) is a middle-aged bachelor who lives with his elderly mother. It's not entirely clear what Gianni does for work, but it's mid-August anyway, and much of Rome is shut down. Gianni adores his mother, but she can be demanding and she needs constant attention from her doting son.
Gianni also hasn't paid a lot of his bills lately. His condominium committee is very angry with him and want him to move out. He hasn't even paid the rent for a few years! His landlord Alfronso (Alfronzo Santagata) visits him and offers a deal: he's going away for a few days on vacation with his much-younger girlfriend, and he needs Gianni to take care of his elderly mother Marina (Marina Cacciotti). Gianni reluctantly agrees, despite the fact he's already taking care of his mother, because Alfronso agrees to waive the money he's owed.
Unexpectedly, Alfronso also dumps his aunt Maria (Maria Cali), who has onset Alzheimer's, onto Gianni. The small apartment becomes incredibly crowded with three elderly women who all have special needs. To complicate matters, his doctor friend Marcello (Marcello Ottolenghi) has to work the night shift and needs Gianni to take care of his mother Grazia (Grazia Cesarini Sforza) for a day. Now five really is company.
The small Italian cast has a very endearing quality about them; they seem genuine, as if they were not actors at all. In fact, some of them really aren't. Actor-writer-director Gianni Di Gregorio (Guests) is natural and genuine as the aging man who has no job, no wife and drinks a little too much. He looks and acts like someone off the street and whom you would like to know. Valeria De Franciscis (The Monster Today) is fantastic as the nagging mother. She's charming and her expressive face is a character all by itself.
Marina Cacciotti is interesting as the self-assured woman (healthy as a rock) who despises her son's pampering -- all she needs is to get out, have a drink and a smoke! She has the slight bitchy edge of Italian women that we've come to love. Maria Cali is quiet and withdrawn as Aunt Maria, and Grazia Cesarini Sforza is endearing as Marcello's mother who is tired of her doctor son's restrictions -- she wants to eat meat and drink wine and go to bed late! Considering this is their first film, these women has done a remarkable job.
Alfronso Santagata (Gomorrah) is nicely pushy as the landlord who knows how to drive a hard bargain and offer a deal Gianni can't refuse. Marcello Ottolenghi is gentle as Gianni's doctor friend. And Luigi Marchetti (Alta marea) is affectionately aimless as Viking.