Friends who haven't seen this movie don't have to worry, there are basically no spoilers here; friends who have seen this movie don't rush to leave, maybe here can bring you some new perspectives.
For any introduction and promotion of this film, the first thing to cover the face is two words - "suspense". Why does everyone love suspense movies? Not only is the plot twists and turns fascinating, but more importantly, suspense films can "measure IQ". Everyone loves movies that they can just understand, and others can't fully understand. When you start to enjoy this movie with the anticipation of "brain burning" and "reversal", you will be engrossed in all kinds of details that may have hints of reversal, and doubt the authenticity of all plots without evidence. When the finale confirms your guess, a sense of satisfaction of "haha but that's all" will arise spontaneously; on the contrary, depending on your mood and viewing experience, you will either sincerely praise the "bug-free reversal", or sneer. "A bunch of bugs, reversing for reversal's sake".
Personally, I think there are other angles to enjoy suspense films. That's the angle of watching a normal movie. "Film is to carve time", this is the famous saying of the master Tarkovsky, very X-shaped and very reasonable. The purpose of a movie is to give you an experience. This experience may be carved from real life and resonate with you; it may be to create another time and space to stimulate your curiosity. No matter which one, it is the biggest charm of the movie that allows you to enter it and change from a bystander to an experiencer. And adjectives like "brain-burning" and "god reversal" firmly pin you in the position of a bystander, making suspense films a tool for IQ self-assessment and show-off.
So, can "The Invisible Guest" give us an experience other than IQ self-testing? Friends who have seen it, think back, which character, which scene, and which plot in this movie made you resonate with it, or have a big brain and amaze you? For example, the male protagonist, is it as injustice as Dou E that you sympathize with, or is it as evil as a clown that you hate? Does the mistress make you shake your head in cold blood and ruthlessness, or does the conscience reproach you so much? Has the pain of losing a child of the old couple touched you? The only exception is that after all the burdens have been shaken, the ink oozing from his chest symbolizes a dark heart. But that's all.
Therefore, when this film was conceived and shot, it was just trying to measure IQ and play in reverse. Most of the characters are functional, rather than portrayed for you to experience.
The type of suspense is not an excuse for the pale characters. The plot of "The Bourne" has taken a turn for the worse, but no one will not be moved by Jason Bourne's life experience and fate; "Batman: The Dark Knight" is a battle between good and evil, and there is a lot of fog. , but no one is not impressed by the pure evil of the Joker; who is behind the "L.A. Confidential" is fascinating, but no one will not notice that the three police protagonists with very different personalities shine with completely different lights... …
Since it's only suspense left, let's take a look at how it tells a story. The two major routines of suspense film narrative: hallucinations and amnesia. "The Invisible Guest" circumvents both, but it's more tricky: let the characters speak the story. Because all the stories in the character's mouth can be fake, there is no need to worry about contradictions and flaws. The only real plot in the whole film is the confrontation between the lawyer and the male protagonist. Looking back, the hints and foreshadowing of this part are still hard work, but this is also the mystery of this movie's "less bugs".
Of course, looking back, the hints and foreshadowing of this part are still hard work (there are spoilers below):
The female lawyer seems to have come early; she seems to have been making confessions instead of talking about defense strategies; she repeatedly questioned the location of the missing car; when the male protagonist revealed that the deceased was not dead at the time, she seemed to be out of control...
Yet another yet. The astonishing burden of being a female lawyer is indeed very imaginative, but it cannot withstand careful consideration. No matter how difficult it is to pretend to be a professional such as a lawyer, from the perspective of the parents of the deceased, it is far more feasible to ask a lawyer who is willing to help to pretend to be a lawyer than an old mother herself. Note that the fact that the mother is an actress only means that she can act according to the script, it does not mean that she has the qualification level of a lawyer to deal with real clients. Therefore, the plot of the mother pretending to be a lawyer lacks logical inevitability, and the reversal for the sake of reversal greatly weakens the shock it brings.
(Spoilers end).
In fact, the routine does not mean that you can't make a good suspense movie - "Inception" is almost all hallucinations, and "Memento" plays with amnesia, but the illusion can go down several layers, and each layer has a different style of painting; The magical structure makes the audience feel the same; and "Invisible Guest", the stories are thrown out one by one, and it is very convenient to weave, but there is no subtle interaction or delicate structure between these sets of stories.
Of course, there is no denying that the viewing process of this film is still enjoyable. It's just that suspense films can have more dimensions, making them go beyond the category of "suspense burns the brain", and the audience also has more angles, making them go beyond the "IQ self-test" function.
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