By day Griff is an everyday office worker, in an everyday town. He lives a secluded life, bullied by co-workers and his protective brother his only friend. By night Griff assumes his other identity, roaming the dark streets protecting the innocent and the vulnerable from the dangers that lurk in the shadows – he is the hero, Griff the Invisible. Increasingly concerned by Griff’s eccentric behaviour, his brother introduces Griff to Melody an eccentric and charming girl. As Griff is forced to face up to realities of a mundane world, it is up to Melody to rescue him for the sake of herself, Griff and their love for each other.
Director Leon Ford who’s body of work mostly consists of acting performances brings us his feature film debut with ‘Griff the Invisible’, filmed in Sydney the film consists of an eccentric romance with a super hero twist. Those familiar with certain areas of Sydney will no doubt recognise some locations used throughout the film, it’s interesting to note the different feel you can derive from a film simple based on having a more intimate knowledge of the locations used.
However, the location is merely the back drop for ‘Griff the Invisible’ which is a character driven story with romance, adventure, and is about struggling to fit in with modern society and the expectations about how one should live their life.
The characters in the film are likeable, interesting and amusing and the performances of the cast deliver these aspects so effectively on screen. Ryan Kwanten, Maeve Dermody and Patrick Brammall display good chemistry on screen with the relationships between the three characters being at the heart of the film. The supporting cast round out the film well (particularly Toby Schmitz) despite having fairly minimalistic roles.
The pacing of the film can be quiet slow at times, it slowly builds certain aspects of the characters using some clever techniques to keep the audience guessing or at least thinking more deeply about the events unfolding onscreen. The themes explored by the film is something well worth dwelling on, and can be quite challenging of some aspects of the lifestyles of modern living. The film manages to promote these ideas in an entertaining and humorous manner while still making its argument.
The visual effects used are cleverly styled in a way that fits with the tone of the film, and subtle in way which rounds out any give scene rather than drawing focus away from the events occurring.
At its heart though ‘Griff the Invisible’ is a quirky romance, a quiet film that displays a lot of heart and some touching moments, this is certainly an enjoyable and welcome addition to Australian films.
I’m giving it 3 out of 5 stars and it’s released in cinemas on 17th March 2010.