The Invasion
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Movie Reviews of The Invasion
Movie Review: Opening Night
Summary: 5 Stars
After the show, we walked through the underground subways of Market Street here in San Francisco, electronic doors opening before us as we passed, and I said to my wife, "Show no emotion, not even a quiver." The faces of passersby looked grim, agonized, emotional. I was afraid for them, they'd be picked up next. My wife said, "OK then, even though the movie was sort of a mess it still unsettles you." And it's true. The fourth version of Jack Finney's 50s sci-fi masterpiece is a little incoherent, but despite the reputed four directors it works on a basic level, it scares the dickens out of you! Nicole Kidman plays a psychiatrist, Carol Bennell, in modernday Washington DC (attractive use of the city); a divorcee, Carol shares custody of her young son Oliver with her former husband, some kind of government bureaucrat in charge of health issues. Tucker Kaufman, the husband, is played by Jeremy Northam and at first he doesn't seem like such a bad guy. When the space shuttle "Patriot" returns from its mission in outer space and explodes in a two hundred mile wide corridor from Dallas to DC, the wreckage is isolated, and a random sample seems to show spores attached to it, spores that have somehow survived the intense cold of space and also the phenomenal heat of re-entry. Once Tucker is accidentally handed a piece of spore-laden metal, you know things aren't going to go well for his dog, his ex-wife, nor his little boy, but that's why we paid the ten dollars after all!
German director Oliver Hirschbiegel is said to have been responsible for the quieter, more claustrophobic scenes in which, one by one, all of Carol's patients, friends and neighbors get "changed" somehow. When she googles the phrase "my husband is not my husband," hundreds of thousands of hits blink back at her. In no time at all she "gets it," aided by Hirschbiegel's nifty casting of Veronica Cartwright, from the Phil Kaufman version of BODY SNATCHERS, as the most over the top of Carol's patients, one afraid of her husband's volatile ways who gets even more afraid when he becomes "snatched."
The biggest change I could see was that--no pods are involved in this alien invasion--and also that some people might be immune to being invaded and thus more of a target than ever to the alien mass consciousness that seeks to find a new home on earth. Both these changes made the story seem fresh and frisky, though actually I've liked all of the versions so far, even the one with Meg Tilly by Abel Ferrara from the 1990s.
Of course since the 1950s the back story has always seemed timely, and relevant to each era, and here you couldn't help but think of Nicole Kidman at the mercy of the Scientologists and her battle with her former husband, and how he Tom Cruise must be furious at her playing a psychiatrist in the first place, especially one quick to dispense Adderall and other psychoactive drugs at apparently a moment's notice. A deliberate provocation on Nic's part? Who knows what goes on in the mind of the great stars? She and Daniel Craig share a nice chemistry that makes me look forward to their work together in THE GOLDEN COMPASS later this year; and in fact Daniel Craig works well together with Jeffrey Wright, don't you think? They were good as Bond and Felix Leiter in CASINO ROYALE, and here they are back again as scientist pals.
All in all not a perfect movie but far better than its muddled reputation would have you think. The theater we watched it in was filled with the sound of screams, the sound of hundreds of people having a good old time!
Movie Review: A Five Star Science-Fiction Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Someone must defend the exquisite "The Invasion", which was a huge critical and commercial disaster when released in 2007. Personally, I think it was way ahead of its' time, and it is quite ironic that most people are waking up to its' genius on DVD.
Nicole Kidman, in perhaps her most restrained performance plays 'a woman against the world'. Holding onto her sanity while the rest of the world around her are converted literally into zombies, she plays a simple woman who has to deal with some extraordinary circumstances. I found her insomniac performance while teetering on the verge of a nervous breakdown while trapped in the convenience store, to be one of her greatest screen moments.
Its moments like that which define "The Invasion". This is NOT a film for special effects afficionados. In fact, I can't recall even one significant special effect or 'things blowing up'. What I got instead was a quiet, intelligent science fiction thriller that relied upon dialog and languid camera movement to convey a sense of fear and mayhem. In fact, the Directors' style here is an amalgamation of David Lynch and two of his best movies - "Dune" and "Mulholland Drive". The film-noir vibe is stark throughout this film, and I would say this is closer to an art film that a typical commercial thriller.
Perhaps its that sensibility that made this a commercial failure. In one extended sequence, Nicole Kidman is informed that in order to escape being noticed by the zombies, you need to be 'emotionless'. Nicole then proceeds to take the train and walk the streets, and does a fine job of conveying nothingness, simply to escape being killed, while all the while her character is dying inside. Superb.
The end could have been better, yes, and in fact even I was surprised at how conveniently they wrapped things up just to finish the film off. But thats a minor quibble. I preferred this vastly over last years "Children of Men", which I would call "The Invasion"'s poorer cousin. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend the negativity this film attracts when in fact its certainly a science fiction classic and clearly the best film made on the Invasion theme so far.
There is a film from 1994 - "Body Snatchers", which had the same storyline. That was another minor masterpiece that no one noticed (try looking for the DVD, it starred Gabrielle Anwar in her defining role). Its unsung movies like these that are present in the science fiction genre, and true fans of the medium such as myself will always be there to give them the respect they deserve.
Ignore the negativity, and BUY this on DVD today. Its certainly worth watching more than once, and will quickly become one of your favorite movies if you give it a chance.
Five Stars.
Movie Review: Paranoid Schizophrenia or An Inadvertent Warning Against the Dangers of Collectivism.
Summary: 5 Stars
_The Invasion_ (2007) is a modernized and updated film version of the classic 1954 science fiction novel by Jack Finney _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_, starring Nicole Kidman as Dr. Carol Bennell, a feminized version of the main character in Finney's novel. Finney's novel has been previously adapted to film on several occasions and each time has attempted to make a comment on the given era (e.g. commenting on the communist menace, etc.); however, this version has been compared unfavorably to those other adaptations. Nevertheless, I feel that this version has something worthwhile to say despite itself. The film shows what happens when an extra-terrestrial disease invades the earth and turns the people of earth into emotionless zombies. Nicole Kidman who is a divorced psychiatrist living in Washington, D.C. in the movie (perhaps a jab at Scientologist ex-husband Tom Cruise here!) must unravel the situation as she encounters patients who claim that certain of their relatives or associates are behaving oddly or are not themselves. Together with her son (who turns out to be immune to the disease), Kidman must fend off the entire city, including her boyfriend who eventually succumbs to the disease. As the film unravels the atmosphere of paranoia builds and Kidman who eventually becomes infected herself must keep awake, else she too will become an emotionless and mindless zombie. In order to better blend in with the rest of the populace, Kidman adopts a posture of stoicism, thus suppressing all true emotion. The atmosphere of parnaoia builds and at times one wonders whether the whole thing is rather not a schizophrenic delusion. Ultimately there is a confrontation between the people as they now are and Kidman and her son. Kidman must choose between the invading alien presence and her former life and here the movie has a comment to make. While the invaders offer a more peaceful world, they ultimately have no room for her son among them (he being immune to the disease). Thus, we see how in any collective there is always one who stands out and how such a person has no room in the collective. So while the collective may be more "peaceful" in a sense, it also is crippling to the superior man or the one who stands out. In this case, Kidman makes the right choice and ultimately restores the world to the way it was before. Thus, her son is saved from the alien menace.Movie Review: This was a superb sci-fi thriller. How it got bashed by so many people is beyond me.
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, I am not a big fan of re-makes. Especially with all the mindless tripe contained in so many of the re-makes coming out today. I think the two worst re-makes that have come out in just the past two years were "War Of The Worlds" and "The Hills Have Eyes." Both of these re-makes did an absolute injustice to the originals and both of the original films contained a far better atmosphere, and acting as well. I just don't understand the problem that Hollywood, along with people, in general, seem to have with original films. Is newer necessarily better?
Well, that being said, I really have to say that this latest re-make of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is a rare exception to the re-make tripe that has been occurring recently and a marvelous breath of fresh air. This was a very gripping and intelligent sci-fi thriller and I really felt that Nicole Kidman made one of her finest performances ever. (I thought I was going to have insomnia after watching her brilliant perfomance of trying to stay awake to avoid becoming the latest victim of the invasion).
At any rate, this is one that should not be missed. This has to be the best re-make since the other rarity, "King Kong", by Peter Jackson.
Movie Review: complimentary 3rd version
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent retelling of the original 50's sci-fi flick "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers". Had me hooked right from the very beginning to the very end. My recommendation to all viewers is to first screen the original movie prior to this Kidman version because it then becomes interesting to notice the similarities between the two. However, of course, this is not necessary, for this new version stands quite nicely all by itself.
Nicole is just honey to look at and her acting is superb. And it was fun to watch Daniel Craig on vacation from his James Bond role..a chance to see another side of his acting ability. I also very much enjoyed the character played by Jeffrey Wright who I had not seen since the Bill Murray movie Broken Flowers. Acting aside I enjoyed the story and I think this version compliments and sits proudly with its two predecessors. Excellent making-of features as well included.