The other night I rented 'The Invisible' (2007).   This was a movie that I thought about seeing in the theater, but then I fell in to the same old routine that garnered me the nickname of CB (cheap bastard).   So instead of forking out the bucks to go see this at a matinee, I waited for the DVD to come out.

The movie is really about the relationship/appreciation that develops between two high school students after one accidentally "kills" the other.    The student who gets "killed" (actually beaten to a pulp and left for dead, where his soul can leave his body and observe the drama unfolding around him) is Nick Powell, a loner, artistic type of fellow.   The would be killer in this case is Annie Newton, a self-imposed tough chick who among other things, earns her keep as a burglar and lone-shark.   The conflict arises when Annie mistakenly thinks that Nick turned her in for a recent burglary.   From there, she and her goons beat the stuffing out of Nick and leave him for dead.

But as I said, the real meat of the story is the relationship that develops after Nick is left for dead.   As it turns out, if someone can find his body soon enough - there's a chance they can bring him back.    Unfortunately for Nick, the only one his "spirit" can turn to for help is the girl responsible for his "death" - Annie.   Annie can somehow sense and hear Nick's presence around her - and his pleas for help before it's too late.   As the story moves along, we find out Annie's background and begin to understand why she turned out the way she did.   So does Nick.   In the end, Annie sacrifices her life so that Nick can regain his.

I thought the idea behind this story was great.    Justin Chatwin plays Nick (you may remember Justin as Tom Cruise's son in the 2005 movie 'War of the Worlds').   I thought he did an admirable job given the limitations of his character.   Since he's "dead" and invisible to all but Annie, it was a rather difficult role to play.   Margarita Levieva who plays Annie Newton did a superb job.   She gave life and empathy to a character that starts off cold.   In fact I would say that her role as Annie was the real star of the movie.   I was surprised to find out that until this movie, she was limited to mainly television - I would say that she's a star in the making.

'The Invisible' isn't scary, but it's a damn fine movie with a good amount of tension.   The ending is particularly touching.   In my scale of 1-5 (with 5 being a great movie), I'd give 'The Invisible' a score of 4.

Until next time, enjoy your rentals. J/W