What Critics Are Saying About Invisible Man

Elisabeth Moss is winning strong reviews in Invisible Man for her role as a young architect trying to escape an abusive relationship with a brilliant scientist (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). The movie itself (directed by Leigh Whannell) also has a strong 92% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. A sample of what critics are saying:

• At the Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern see it as an "ingenious" feminist update of a horror classic, one that could alternately be titled The Invisible Man vs. The Indomitable Woman. One caveat is that the film runs 124 minutes, and "there are only so many variations an actor can play on the theme of being scared to death, which is how the script portrays Cecilia (Moss) for much too long." When she finally shifts from victim to combatant, things improve greatly.
• Moira Macdonald of the Seattle Times also is impressed, with Moss singled out for the most praise. "As Peggy in 'Mad Men,' she brought an earnest, aching honesty to her character, and she does something similar here, letting us see the steppingstones of Cecilia’s fear, agony and ultimate grim determination," writes Macdonald. "You cheer her on, as she fights something she can’t see as her unearthly blue eyes desperately catch the light; an irresistible survivor and heroine."

• Director Whannell has made the HG Wells classic a "more potent fable" for our age with a neat trick: He "inverted the invisible man archetype into an incredibly tense and suspenseful thriller exploring the psychological horror of intimate partner abuse," writes Katie Walsh of Tribune News Service. But it wouldn't have worked without the " virtuosic performance" of Moss.
• Count Manohla Dargis of the New York Times among those praising both the director and Moss. The latter's "full-bore performance—anchored by her extraordinarily supple face—gives the movie its emotional stakes." Her character Cecilia is "being gaslighted, and while her agony can be unnerving, it is even more shivery when her weeping stops and this horror-movie damsel in distress becomes a threat."

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