The Invisible Man (2020): When a Man Ruins a Woman’s Life
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© Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions |
The Invisible Man (2020) is, above all, heartbreaking. It's so much more than a thrilling ghost story, it's about a man who ruins a woman's life by controlling her. The sad truth is that this exact thing is happening, even right now, as I type this.
In the patriarchal system, most women are used to being controlled by a man. It’s been years since women were expected to serve men in every way possible, in the living room, dining room, and mostly bedroom. It's as if we live just to take care of them, of course they do take care of us in terms of financial, but other than that we’re like no more than a servant. Household chores are supposedly a shared responsibility for everyone who lives under the roof, but let's put this aside for now.
In this movie, we can see how heartbreaking it is to see a woman who fights for her rights, for her own freedom. Cecilia/Cee (Elizabeth Moss), has to put up with everything Adrien (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) tells her to do. Not only that she has to ask for her husband’s approval to dress-up and travel, she also has to think the way he wants her to think.
Rather than patriarchy in general, this can be called an abusive relationship, considering that the term is too broad for this case. I believe a man can still act nicely with a patriarchal system in mind, and as long as their partner wants to be in that position. Nevertheless, this case of abusive relationship stems from the men who abuse their power in a patriarchal society. When a man knows that he has power over the woman and uses it without considering the woman’s will, then it’s a toxic masculinity, a dark side of the patriarchal system.
Adrien knows how people won’t believe a wide-eyed anxious woman, a woman who rambles about her dead husband, a woman who tells everyone she’s the victim without having any clear evidence. He knows exactly how the society works and this is where the horror lies.
How many times have you seen headlines about women going on the court countlessly just to prove sexual harassment men did to them? Sexual harassment and law are having such complex relationship, but most of them time it’s only cornering the victim. It’s not easy to look for evidence when a stranger grabbed your intimate parts in a crowded bus, for instance, and not to mention the people who are doubting the event and framing the victim as somewhat delusional.
It’s so much harder when everyone chooses to doubt them instead of supporting and comforting. Questions like “are you sure that happened?” “maybe it was an accident,” “why didn’t you scream?” are only making it harder for the victim. Listening and staying by their side is the best option, but some people don’t seem to be capable of having this basic form of empathy.
As the story escalates, Cee becomes some sort of a delusional and psychopathic woman just as her husband wished. The plot is definitely heartbreaking to watch because I’ve heard similar stories from women in all places, all ages, and all religions. There are many women who even lost their sanity after being harassed and not being taken seriously by the people around them.
When the movie ends with Cee finally getting her revenge is when I get disappointed. Punishing Adrien with life-time sentence or any other revenge that takes time will be much more satisfying rather than killing him in a minute. Adrien harasses and abuses Cee for years, so it’s only right if he feels it too. I don’t condone abuse and harassment, except for rapists and abusers just like him.
In the end, I don’t think The Invisible Man refers to only men’s physical presence, but also all of their presence in every way possible. Every aspect in life that men with toxic masculinity and psychopathic tendencies expected women to do for them. This movie is heartbreaking, because of how real the issue is.
Final Verdict
Except for the ending and the half-cooked sci-fi aspect, the movie is actually one hell of a ride. The suspense and frustration are all there, but the sci-fi back story doesn’t really make sense. You can’t really say this as a sci-fi horror, because the science is only there for a small amount of the story. It doesn’t really explain and justify everything, it’s just there. On top of all, kudos for the represented issue.
7.5/10
Note: I know toxic masculinity and patriarchal system are two sensitive and complex topics to be discussed only in a paragraph, but this article was written to give you the general view of the issue represented in the movie. All opinions are completely mine and if you feel the need to correct or/and argue, then feel free to leave comments or contact me via Twitter.
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