Customer Reviews

Invisible Child

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a wonderful film that is much underated. It's a bit soapy at places but it speaks of a major undertow in our current society.

In the film, an otherwise wonderful and loving mother, belives that she has a third child in her family that really doesn't exist. She divides her time between what she belives are her three children. This is all well and good and the family is well adjusted because the whole family, including her husband, love her and allow her this delision.

But then, due to the innocent motives of the family's nanny who visits with the government agency of Child Protection, the government steps in and decides that the children need to be taken away from this delisional mother.

I won't give away the ending. It's very clever. However, I wish to point out that, at least in my opinion, there is a thinly masked social meaning to this film. What is most important? The family unit that is loving and funtional or the government's defination of what a "good" family is? Granted, this family is living with a delisional mother, but doing just fine - thank you. But that's not good enough for the government. They charge the father with "child abuse." A very damaging charge the seems to be more and more easily handed out in our current times.

If you care about families or have one of your own, you will love this adventure despite just a very few moments of "soapinest." It's worth it.

I disagree with the writers who bashed Ms. Wilson. As a former psychiatric nurse specialist, I have seen numerous people with delusions more bizarre than the one depicted, and a good number of the families do everything they can to avoid institutionalization of the loved one. Rita Wilson's performance is haunting, yet endearing. Victor Garber, is, as always, superb. Mae Whitman is phenomenal, she is a very bright and believable actress. All in all, an incredible story. And, as for the death, at the end, delusional people often have an innate sense that the things they believe are true, are somehow not "quite" real, and will often develope a "way out," without realizing that they are.

In this movie I had seen: A husband packed with emotion and love not to institutionalize his
wife and I felt she knew this would have happen if 'Maggie' situation did not turn around.
But, with the acceptance of having 'Maggie' in the household as a daughter did not hurt any-
thing. But, this family seem to be 'Christian' as God and Heaven as well as Angels were not
'afraid' to be said or felt in this movie ----which is a wonderful feeling and comfort to know
this. I consider this movie very good and well acted with no hesitation at all. Yes, at first
I was concerned, but as the movie went into the story I felt happy about the entire situation be-
cause I am sure this actually does happen. So, please understand the movie and do not be quick to
criticize.

My wife and I watched this, and laughed helplessly for the last fifteen minutes. The basic premise is so goofy, the actors so solemn, the whole approach so politically correct that it reminded me of Oscar Wilde's comment on the death of Dickens' "Little Nell": "Only a man with a heart of stone could read it without laughing."

The "funeral" scene in particular left us in stitches. I only regret that the wife didn't look up into her husband's eyes and say, "I'm pregnant. And I think this one will be invisible, too."

If you're bored and in need of a hearty laugh by all means, watch Invisible Child where a mother of two creates a third child (Maggie) for some obscure reason. The movie is devoted to watching this nutcase interact with thin air with the aid of her other daughter and husband. With no set up or backstory, you're immediately thrust into this family who has been dealing with mom's issue for about five years already. This movie is totally illogical and I suppose would be touching if it wasn't so absurd. There are SO many entertaining parts of this movie however. Anytime that the mother is out in public with her "child" is a riot. I don't know what would possess anyone to be a part of this film. I had to give it two stars just because it's so hilarious.

Invisible Child This is an amazing story going into the mind and heart and soul of a family dealing with powerful emotions that are definitely real to them. A lot of times we forget we can not feel what they feel but need to appreciate them and go where they are at, until they can work through the personal side. Just because you can not see something does not mean it is not real, if only in the mind!

It was really interesting to see my favorite actor, Victor Garber, in this movie. He plays a married man who has two children. Well, three, if you count the invisible middle daughter (age 5) his wife has created. Their son, who's younger (4) really believes he has an invisible sister. The older daughter, who's maybe 8-10ish, and father play along with it.
The mother hires a nanny, who's kinda freaked out by this invisible child thing, but goes along with it. She's concerned about the effect this is having on the other children and talks to a psychiatrist. He refers her to social services, and she, being British, doesn't know what they do. When she hears that the kids might be taken away, she panics and leaves.
Meanwhile, the invisible daughter keeps getting sick and the social services lady is paying them visits.
Will she take the kids away? Watch this fun movie to find out. :-)

The premise of this movie is a typical one -- a dysfunctional family with its systemic ways to dealing with its problems (in this case, the mother's mental illness) has its systems upset when a newcomer creates conflict. In this case, the way an entire family colludes to help a mother preserve her delusions of a third child is upended when a well-meaning outsider in the form of a nanny enters the home. In all honesty, the premise is no more ridiculous than any other Lifetime-style movie given that the writers seeem to be running out of diseases of the week and have to search harder and wider for different distresses.

The movie is saved by the excellent performances of Victor Garber as the enabling husband, as Mae Whitman as the oldest child, and Tushka Bergen as the nanny. What ultimately makes one unable to ignore the sheer ridiculousness of the plot is the almost-laughably poor performance of the lead, Rita Wilson. Ms. Wilson is utterly unconvincing in her portrayal of delusions. Ms. Bergen conveys in her portrayal of the nanny --PRETENDING to believe -- far better how to act in a delusion than the mother who actually does believe in her invisible child. In the hands of a more nuanced and skillful actress, this movie could have been raised from schlock to touching and poignant.

This movie was kind of messed with my head. The main characters are a family of four and their nanny - problem is that Mom has created a 3rd child - in her head.
The entire movie revolves around the family's desire to apease mom in the psychotic delusions. It will really mess with your head to watch this unfold on screen.
The acting is great, but the content is disturbing.

I watched this movie because I'm a Victor Garber fan. He does not disappoint. However, I found this film to be extremely disturbing. Rita Wilson's character belonged in a mental institution. I expected her to get the help she needed but that didn't happen. Instead, they all went along with her fantasy. The fake funeral was the most disturbing scene. Did they really think Maggie's "death" would solve the problem? Crazy. Still, I give it 4 stars for the superb acting.