10 Hidden Things You Missed In The Invisible Man
7. The Clever Camerawork
Lots of shots throughout the film may make you uneasy, but you don’t know why. In his commentary on the film, director Leigh Whannell explained this is purposeful.
He wanted to frame shots just slightly too wide or offset to leave room for the invisible man in the frame. He could be there at any point, you just can’t see him!
Take the locked wide shot in the kitchen scene: Whannell revealed that many crew members questioned whether this would be effective or lacking in coverage and movement - but he insisted that his vision was something that needed to be leaned into in order to work best.
Similarly, as the police officers question Cecilia, you can almost see the man standing in the perfect space off to the right; or when Sydney proposes a girls’ night, there’s standing space left next to her for the invisible man to do the unthinkable and punch a little girl directly in the face.
One slightly different (but equally clever) shot is the tracking shot of Cecilia walking around James’ house.
Some people think it’s a POV shot from the invisible man, but Whannell clarifies that it’s actually a follow shot, where the audience is looking at his back.
Or rather we would be, if we could actually see him.