The Invasion

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Rating 2


Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel

Written by David Kajganich from the novel by Jack Finney

Starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright and Veronica Cartwright


When a NASA space shuttle explodes on re-entry and debris from it crashes back to Earth over a wide area it releases an intergalactic spore that invades its human hosts, taking over their bodies while they sleep and turning them into “pod people”. Tucker Bennell (Jeremy Northam), a senior investigator working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is one of those infected. His estranged wife Carol (Nicole Kidman), a successful psychiatrist, begins to have suspicions, which she shares with her best friend, Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig), a hospital-based doctor.

The first thirty minutes or so set the scene with a reasonable degree of attention to detail, passably introducing the creepy aura of a major city, Washington D.C., fast taken over by the hordes of emotion-free pod people. Once the basic facts are established, however, it turns into a frenetic and ham-fisted race against time, as Carol tries to escape from the locked-down capital and make her way to Baltimore to rescue her young son Oliver (Jackson Bond) from her husband.

Strange fractured editing has been employed to tell the story, jumping back and forth within very small timeframes. It is not confusing to the development of the story, but it does give the impression of a film that has been rather clumsily put together. After the relatively encouraging first half-an-hour it rapidly unravels and spirals downhill.

When ‘The Invasion’ was released into American cinemas in August 2007 it was greeted with scathing reviews and subsequently had a miserable showing at the box office. It would eventually gross $15 million in America against an alleged $80 million production budget, with a further box office gross of $26 million overseas. The blame for the failure of the film was placed squarely at the door of Nicole Kidman, who, in time-honoured cinematic tradition has now been accused of being “box office poison”, despite her being one of Hollywood’s few genuine international film stars.

Having watched the film, it is clear to me that any responsibility for its failings is the result of studio interference. Executives at Warner Brothers were not happy with the film made by director Oliver Hirschbiegel. They brought in the Wachowski brothers (‘The Matrix’) to re-write the script and after a break of thirteen months they hired James McTiegue (‘V for Vendetta’) to direct the additional scenes, during which Kidman broke several ribs and was hospitalised when a stunt went wrong.

‘The Invasion’, which was variously known as ‘The Visiting’ and ‘Invasion’ during production, is yet another adaptation of Jack Finney’s 1955 novel ‘The Body Snatchers’. It was originally adapted for the big screen in 1956 and re-titled ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’, a classic film of its genre directed by Don Siegel, who would later make ‘Dirty Harry’. A 1978 remake by director Philip Kaufman (‘The Right Stuff’) was a critical and box office success and it was re-made again in 1993, the title now shortened to ‘Body Snatchers’. This third version was directed by Abel Ferrara, who had previously been responsible for controversial films like ‘Driller Killer’ and ‘King of New York’.

The influence of Jack Finney’s novel has extended elsewhere, for example the excellent 1998 Robert Rodriguez high school horror ‘The Faculty’ and the sadly short-lived 2005 ABC network television series ‘Invasion’. The theme itself dates back even further than Finney’s novel and can also be found in ‘The Puppet Masters’, a 1951 novel by Robert A Heinlein, and in the 1953 film ‘It Came From Outer Space’, based on a Ray Bradbury short story.

The original 1956 film has variously been claimed to be an allegory for the perceived threat of Communism or a comment about the paranoia in McCarthy-era America, both themes being inter-related. The 1978 film drew on the continuing fallout from the Vietnam War and Watergate. The 1993 film was a commentary about the rigid restrictions that society places upon itself. This fourth film takes place in a post 9/11 climate of international conflict caused by racial, religious and political intolerance.

‘The Invasion’ is a weak and unnecessary version of a story that has been successfully adapted for the screen several times. However, the sexist and maybe even misogynist finger-pointing in the direction of Nicole Kidman, and unproven claims that her alleged heavy use of Botox had already turned her into an emotionless pod person before the film even went into production, is entirely unjustified. Her substantial body of work has surely already established her acting and box office credentials, and she is certainly the best thing about this mediocre film.

Veronica Cartwright, who has a small role here, had a leading role in the 1978 film and also made a three-episode guest appearance in the ABC television series.



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Invasion

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Created by Shaun Cassidy

Written by Shaun Cassidy, Juan Carlos Coto, Michael Alaimo, Becky Hartman-Edwards and others

Starring Eddie Cibrian, William Fichtner, Kari Matchett, Lisa Sheridan, Tyler Labine, Alexis Dziena, Evan Peters, James Frain, Elisabeth Moss, Aisha Hinds and Ariel Gade


This 2005 science fiction show lasted for one season of 22 episodes on the ABC network before it was cancelled. It was broadcast immediately after the ratings hit ‘Lost’, but failed to hold onto the audience for that show. It was put on hiatus twice, eventually being broadcast over a period of 34 weeks between 21 September 2005 and 17 May 2006. The average audience numbers per episode was in the region of nine or ten million.

A hurricane leaves a small Florida town called Homestead cut off afterwards. Many people in the town went missing during the storm and when they turn up again they start to behave strangely. Dave Groves (played by Tyler Labine), a beer-drinking conspiracy theorist, believes it is the work of aliens. He involves his sister’s partner, Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian), the park ranger, in his theories. Varon’s former wife, Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett), a doctor at the local hospital, is married to the local sheriff, Tom Underlay (William Fichtner, in a fantastic performance). These people, and their children, have an uneasy relationship, which becomes increasingly strained when Varon begins to investigate further and becomes concerned about the sheriff’s suspicious behaviour.

It’s a variation of ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’. The story unfolds quite slowly, although not unduly so, and allows plenty of time to explore the lives of the main characters, who are all interconnected by family ties, but equally are in conflict because of these ties. It’s nicely written, with very good production values and excellent acting.

On first viewing I found Larkin Groves (the character played by Lisa Sheridan) rather irritating. That dissipated when I watched the episodes again. Whilst I was baffled first time around by her insistence that Eddie put the safety of their unborn baby above that of his two children from his first marriage, her seemingly selfish and sometimes unreasonable behaviour made more sense second time around. It is also interesting to contrast the reasoning of various characters for investigating the strange happenings taking place around them.

Dave is driven by the fact he is convinced he has found proof of the existence of extraterrestrials - and this obsesses him. Eddie is concerned about the town. Tom (the sheriff) also claims the safety of the people is his first priority, but the motivation for his actions often suggests a hidden agenda, and he and Eddie are constantly at loggerheads. Larkin is an ambitious news journalist working for the local television network. She begins to independently investigate the strange occurrences, hoping for a journalistic scoop. Although she talks about being concerned for the safety of her family, it is not, initially at least, the real reason for what she does. It can also be said that Eddie’s suspicions about Tom, the husband of his former wife and, therefore, the stepfather of his two children, is as strong a reason for his actions as any concerns about the town itself.

The premature cancellation of the show was a shame. It would have been interesting to find out where creator Shaun Cassidy intended to take the story. However, it still works very well as it is and the ending is actually rather satisfying.

One last thing of note, unimportant as it may be, Rose Varon (played by Ariel Gade, who is also featured in the film ‘Dark Water’), the youngest child of Eddie Varon and Mariel Underlay, is surely the cutest child ever seen in a television show.



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