This is quite the different beast compared to the Agatha Christie-based courtroom trial film of Witness for the Prosecution because it doesn't hinge so much on daring last-minute twists and revelations, yet both films are equally fascinating in their own right.
What we get here is a mixture of a portrait of a countryside lawyer, who seems to favor fishing over taking on as many clients as he can, but who is then suddenly steered towards defending a murder case…
"Were you never told that the embroidery of your speech is completely out of proportion to anything you have to say?"
A stage play turned film with a formidable leading duo of Jack Palance and Ida Lupino that chronicles a successful film star's descent into despair when he's caught between renewing a contract with a man he loathes and trying to patch things up with his wife who he is separated from despite there still being obvious affection between them.
It's a really harsh script, tearing down Hollywood at various points and moving somewhere between theatricality and somber earnestness.
An Indonesian rape and revenge film that somehow feels less exploitative and more grounded than comparable genre-fare. Also, it's not as visually dark and depressing as one might expect from such material but rather glary.
It's definitely a mood-piece because the film relies heavily on its images along Marlina's journey and is therein definitely akin to the western genre, which also applies to the plot, which is pretty straightforward and without too many twists or turns. Some might take away…
This film shouldn't work.
The title basically tells you exactly what kind of a story you're in for. It brings a plethora of expectations with it and, even if you just heard the trailer during previews you'll have picked up on a couple of spoilery details and of course there's a lot of invisibility lore to draw from under the guise of this title (a lore, which I'll actually plan to catch up on, courtesy of an Invisible Man films…
