Frame Analysis from The Invisible Man (2020)
Throughout The Invisible Man, we as an audience are taught a few things through the color and framing of shots. Scenes are often either very dark and hard to read, or bright and primarily blue, a-la the hospital scenes or the daytime scenes in Adrainâs house. The camera gradually gives empty space next to the protagonist to imply that âthe invisible manâ, a.k.a. Adrian, may be lurking anywhere, even right next to her. These rules are broken in the film a number of times, but never without reason. The frame I chose to analyze occurs outside the hospital during the big fight scene, as Cecelia chases down Adrian with a gun she stole from a security guard, while simultaneously being hunted by the mental hospitalâs security staff. The scene takes place outside in the rain, in a parking lot lit by amber street lamps. The dark, slight orange ambiance reminds me of the beginning of the movie, as Cecelia tries to escape Adrianâs home as heâs asleep, highlighting important elements with orange pools of light. Cecelia is framed on the left side, between a civilian vehicle and a worker truck, aiming the gun slightly to the right of the camera. She is trying to find and shoot Adrian, and the space left to her right implies that he could be anywhere, even directly next to her. The two cars on either side of the shot frame it very claustrophobic-ly, even though naturally we can assume that there exists more cars and parking lot beyond the frame. The entire scene feels very tense and close, with no music in the background; just the sound of falling rain, footsteps, and ham-radio chatter from the security guards tailing Cecelia.
Her facial expression perfectly displays how she feels during this scene, and how we as a viewer are meant to feel with her. She is uneasy and paranoid, as she has been throughout the film, but she is also very fired up. She knows that this is the closest she has ever been to exposing Adrian for the perverted stalking he has been doing over the past multitude of weeks. Sheâs seen him, as the suit glitches throughout the previous scene inside the hospital, and other people have seen him as well (though theyâve all been killed by him, logically we can assume security cameras caught his actions on tape). She has her way out of the mess that he has gotten her into, and she knows it. Frantically running from car to car looking for cover and disturbed footprints on the wet pavement, the only thing running through her head at this moment is revenge and retribution.
This shot specifically, as well as those throughout this entire chase scene, feature the large, foreboding mental hospital she had been trapped in behind her. It almost feels like a prison escape scene, though we know for her it doesnât quite feel that way. I think showcasing the hospital in the background of this shot was very intentional, showing how far sheâs come in her journey through this torment yet how close she still is to being deemed a crazy person by society.
I apologize for the poor quality of this image, Prime Video doesnât let you directly screenshot the video player so I had to take an image from my phone.
