"The Invasion" *** (out of ****)A funny thing happened while watching Oliver Hirschbiegel's "The Invasion". I kept thinking of other movies. Because of the presence of the film's star, Nicole Kidman, I thought of "The Stepford Wives". Another film in which people from a community are programmed to act "perfectly". Then I thought of "Night of the Living Dead". After everyone becomes programmed they seem to resemble zombies. And finally "War of the Worlds" (Spielberg's version) because each film had an opportunity to make a social/political commentary but didn't take full advantage of the situation. Oddly enough though, I never thought of the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".
In this, the fourth adaptation of Jack Finney's "The Body Snatchers", Nicole Kidman plays Carol Bennell, a psychiatrist who starts to notice unsettling patterns, an estranged ex-husband (Jeremy Northam) gets in comtact with her about their son, Oliver (Jackson Bond). Her son also begins to have reoccurring nightmares, one of her patients speaks of her husband's odd behavior, "my husband is not my husband" she says. And a nation wide "flu" has been going around.
The cause for some of this strange behavior may be the result of a space shuttle which crashed and within the debris left a highly infectious bacteria.
Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig) and Stephen Galeano (Jeffrey Wright) are two doctors who have concluded the bacteria is not from our planet. Its characteristics do not match any organism found on Earth. It has an usually high resistance to both extreme heat and cold. Making it difficult to "destroy".
The film has been subjected to much unfair criticism. Its reputation as a poorly conceived film proceeds it. It is simply not true. "The Invasion" is an enjoyable, routine action/adventure genre piece. It is only when the film tries to become something more it fails. Hence the connection to "War of the Worlds". Much is made about the Iraq war, war in general and foreign diplomatic relations. Why? I'm not sure. What is the film trying to tell me about the Iraq war? Again, I'm not sure. Could it be the only way to succeed in life is to conform? Maybe. But what does that have to do with the Iraq war? If we all think and act the same, the world will be safe? Again, maybe. If we, the viewer, cannot come to some definite terms about what a "message" movie is trying to say, than the message wasn't clearly expressed. That is why when the film stays away from politics it works best.
"The Invasion" is the English language debut of German director Oliver Hirschbiegel. Who directed the 2005 film "Downfall", one of my favorite movies of the year. If we really want to blow our minds, we can say the film is against Fascism. The original was deemed a commentary on Communism. Or maybe the film is just against any regime where masses follow one voice.
Not all the criticism can be thrown at Hirschbiegel. The studio took the film away from him, brought in the Wachowski Brothers and James McTeigue to add more action sequences. Apparently the original version was more subtle. It focused more on the drama of the situation. Sometimes these styles collide. But never to an annoying level where the films becomes unwatchable.
Hirschbiegel is a capable director. Kidman one of our best actresses and Craig well suited in the action genre, he is after all James Bond. So much blends together nicely. If only the film would have stayed "off message" more people may have liked it.
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