Griff the Invisible

A geek love story - I love it. A great premise, well executed. Separating the real from the imaginary and living in the middle. Great acting from some great Australian talent. I give this film a 7 (good) out of 10. {Superhero RomCom}

Released in the same year as Kick Ass, Griff the Invisible is also about a wannabe superhero. Working in an office at day, bullied and seen as weird by his coworkers, Ryan Kwanten's character assumes the identity of Griff the Protector at night. Doomed to be forever weird, his salvation comes in the form of another weird person, played by the ridiculously beautiful Maeve Dermody, who falls for him as the only person who is like her that she has met.

Now, I can't really say if I liked the movie or not. I loved the idea of the invisibility cloak made by soaking a suit in invisible ink and other quirky ideas like that, but in the end we are talking about weird romance and not superheroes, a switch that comes into play around the middle of the film. If you feel out of place in the "real world" you might feel the vibe that connects you to the characters, but the underlying drama of it all made me feel more uncomfortable than I would have wanted. Is Griff insane or not? And if yes, is that OK if he found the girl willing to love and enable him in his insanity? Watch the film and answer for yourself.

First film we saw of the TIFF 2010 season and a great start it was. Very engaging movie with great acting that makes the viewer wonder at times if the unbelievable really might be plausible. There were lots of laughs (and, according to the director - an affable chap, mostly in the right places) as well as many poignant moments, which all flowed together into a satisfying conclusion. Absolutely worth seeing and superior to the spate of would-be superhero movies making movie theater rounds the last few years. Ryan Kwanten, as Griff, quickly draws the audience to his side through his earnest belief in his cause and has them rooting for him and his mission. Maeve Dermody gives a sense of otherworldliness to the character of Melody; she is strange and adorable. An office bully and a well meaning brother thrown into the mix make the duties of this superhero harder than necessary.

The film centres around the title character Griff, a socially anxious young man who spends his days working a mundane office job. Unfortunately his shy nature makes him an easy target for a co-worker to bully Griff on a daily basis. At night, Griff assumes the identity of "Griff the Protector", sworn protector of the neighbourhood. His well-intentioned and concerned older brother sees this behaviour as abnormal (no really, he does) and is at a loss of how to help him. His brother's girlfriend finds Griff's behaviour attractive.

This is a movie that appeals to the strange nature in all of us that we all keep bottled up inside, hidden from the outside world. The two central characters are almost caricatures of what it is to be strange and different given their loose grip on reality, yet they still manage to be believable, which is a testament to the sharp and consistent writing and the amazing performances by Ryan Kwanten (Griff) and Maeve Dermody (Melody) to portray them.

At its core, Griff the Invisible is a love story. Nothing is more endearing than watching these two innocent and strange beings find each other and connect in all their strangeness. Together they create their own vivid reality, which I think the kid in all of us wishes we could be a part of.

People see the world through different windows. Most of us see the everyday stark reality of work, home, and family. A few people see things a bit more unusually. On the surface, Griff (Ryan Kwanten) leads an unassuming and mundane life. He has a job as a shipping liaison in a cramped cubicle, he does not enjoy talking to people, and he seems to hide even when he is walking on the street. Because of Griff's social ineptitude, he is a magnet for bullies. There is a bully at work who singles out Griff for torment and even Griff's brother Tim (Patrick Brammall) makes Griff feel uncomfortable with his overbearing manner.

Griff has a secret though. There is a reason he chooses not to have any friends and only works rote office jobs. He is a superhero. At night, he scans the streets with a telescope and a bank of computers from his apartment searching out ruffians intent on harming neighborhood women. The police commissioner will call him with tips and thanks for a job well done. To keep his superhero costume in working order and incorporate new technologies, Griff visits a local hardware store and always warns the cashier to forget he was ever there.

Melody (Maeve Dermody) also has a secret. She realizes that since there is so much space between the atoms in our bodies and the atoms in walls that if she aligns herself just right, she can walk through walls. She happens across Griff and is mesmerized. Here is a kindred spirit. Melody cannot stand the workaday men who fancy her because they see the world as it really is. Griff, on the other hand, does not see hardly any reality and this strikes Melody as the most wonderful thing she has ever seen.

The story and interactions between aloof Griff and curious Melody work. They have a special conversational style and truly understand one another. When they are on screen together, the film works. Unfortunately, when they are apart and it is just Griff and his superhero activities, the film is a complete mess. Griff is really not a very interesting character when it is just him in his apartment trying out new superhero ideas. Melody is the character the audience cares about and wants to watch, so whenever she is off screen, you spend that time just waiting for her to reappear.