Review: “Griff the Invisible” on DVD
In August, I raved a bit about Griff the Invisible, a charming independent film about man who dreams of being a superhero. The movie opened and closed without much attention, which is shame because it dared to think big on a tiny budget. Fortunately, though, the film is coming out this week on DVD and is well worth your attention.
This Australian film was written and directed by Leon Ford, who did some commentary on camera with the 50th Anniversary DC Universe poster seen over his shoulder, a testament to his affection for the super-hero. His movie had plenty of heart, anchored by a dynamite performance by Ryan Kwanten.
Fantasy and reality is approached by Griff, a lonely salaryman and Melody (Maeve Dermody), a scientist challenging the laws of physics. They make an unlikely, but thoroughly charming couple of misfits, falling in love.
Shot on 16mm for atmosphere, the film transfers nicely to Blu-ray but lacks the sharpness of the bigger budgeted behemoth super-hero films that also came out this year. Same with the audio so overall, it’s fine on disc and watching it on a home screen makes it feel more intimate and touching than on a Cineplex screen. In some ways, this is better at home than anywhere else.
The disc comes with only a handful of extras, all a little perfunctory such as the commentary form Ford, Producer, Nicole O’Donohue, and actor Patrick Brammall. Ford is also the focus of director diary videos which are too short to be worth seeing. He touches on his thoughts before, during, and after production but never really says anything. There are also several pieces under the umbrella title Anatomy of a Scene — Opening Sequence (3:16), the All-In-One Shot (2:16), and the Anyhoo (2:00) — but is shot and edited in such a way that there’s little to be learned. There’s also the 4:08 making of featurette that again is too short to be worthwhile. Brammall also hosts a 1:24 set tour that shows you only brief sections and again leaves you wanting something with substance. The best part of the extras are the 7:36 of deleted scenes, none of which were vital to the story but did flesh out the story and characters.
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