Griff the Invisible

Plot synopsis:
Griff is a socially awkward person who gets bullied by co-worker Tony by day. At night he dons the costume of a superhero and fights criminals. At times his brother Tim, visits him. One day Tim tells Griff about his girlfriend 'Melody' and brings her with him the next time he visits. Melody is shown to be a girl who lives in a world of absurd thoughts, who also isn't comfortable with other people.
One day Griff gets an idea about becoming invisible and after some research, finds himself doing experiments by purchasing things from Melody's father's shop. He makes himself a suit and wearing it, goes to his office but is caught on camera, not yet revealing his face. Griff again makes an invisibility cloak but this time his boss sees his face on camera he gets fired from his job. That night, Tony calls a local goon and beats Griff in an alley. He returns home to retrieve his suit and police catch a bloodied Griff and later release him with a warning. Slowly Griff and Melody fall in love, and Melody tries to encourage Griff in his work by presenting him with a 'Universal SUIT' sent anonymously. It becomes apparent that the superhero, the goons he beats and his invisibility are just his imagination.
Tim gets hold of this and asks Melody why she is encouraging him, to which Melody replies Griff is a freak like her and they love living like that. Griff hears this and realizes the fact that everything is his imagination. He destroys the costume and all computers he was using in his imaginary world.
He goes to Melody's house for dinner where she realizes Griff no more believes in his imaginary world. Soon afterwards she comes to Griff's home and tells him he was the only one who went into her world and that was the reason she loved him, but now, he also is behaving like normal people, so she can't love him anymore. With saying that, she leaves his house and cries leaning on his door. Suddenly, she falls through the door (as she was seen trying earlier) and lands in Griff's room. Griff takes her into his arms and she utters, "You can believe it." They share a passionate kiss. Soon after, a package falls through the mail slot of Griff's door with Melody's name written on it. Tim is then shown walking away with his new girlfriend. Griff runs into his room to put on his invisible suit, and Melody opens the box. Inside is a note from Tim that says, "Use these to be the only one who can see Griff when he's invisible. So he doesn't have to wear the hat." The device resembles a View-Master stereoscopic toy. Griff enters unseen into the room, and when Melody holds up the device to her eyes, she can see him standing there again. They smile at each other as the film ends.

Tags: revenge, fantasy, psychedelic

Review:
I just saw Griff the Invisible about two hours ago at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The best part of the film is the quirky originality of the two main characters, Griff and Melody.
At the end of the movie, I felt like I wanted to see more of these characters.Griff the Invisible is also different from all the other offerings because the others hit you over the head with the predictable moral that superheros are just a fantasy (like we don't know that) and that reality is better than fantasy.
I think the movie was mostly appreciated for the likability of the characters, the humour, the fresh writing style and just the general entertainment value..
The film centres around the title character Griff, a socially anxious young man who spends his days working a mundane office job.
His brother's girlfriend finds Griff's behaviour attractive.This is a movie that appeals to the strange nature in all of us that we all keep bottled up inside, hidden from the outside world.
The two central characters are almost caricatures of what it is to be strange and different given their loose grip on reality, yet they still manage to be believable, which is a testament to the sharp and consistent writing and the amazing performances by Ryan Kwanten (Griff) and Maeve Dermody (Melody) to portray them.At its core, Griff the Invisible is a love story.
Griff is a meek customer service client by day, lion-hearted, troubled superhero by night.
Griff's DIY approach to the modern superhero is challenged by meeting a woman of equal imagination, vision and determination.
A funny and smart film with great chemistry, top secret package delivery, and real imaginary special effects.
Very engaging movie with great acting that makes the viewer wonder at times if the unbelievable really might be plausible.
Leon Ford's "Griff the Invisible," Australia's answer to the superheroes-in-the-real-world approach popular in the United States, is an interesting little low-budget romantic comedy masquerading as a superhero flick.
Some people may be turned off by the apparent lack of superhero action in this film, but as the ending of "Griff the Invisible" proves, it's the "reality" of what goes on that counts.Griff (Ryan Kwanten) is a socially awkward office employee by day, and a not-so-anonymous superhero called "Griff" by night.
At the office, he's the target of the office bully, and Griff takes to sneaking in the office at night to set up booby traps to pull off the next day.Griff's older brother Tim (Patrick Brammall) has recently begun dating the equally socially awkward Melody (Maeve Dermody).
In Griff, she finds a kindred spirit, which proves problematic for her current relationship with his brother."Griff the Invisible" is a competently acted little superhero film.
One thing that may kill the experience, however, is a third-act twist that lends further credence to a commonly-held belief about the supposed mental instability of people who try to be real-life superheroes.
This is unfortunate, because it's firmly established that Griff is far from "normal," but we seem to sympathize him, his relationship with Melody and his mission to save the world, but we also understand that there is nothing wrong with being "weird." Griff and Melody are perfect for each other because they're so "weird" and don't have to worry about being "normal" (like everybody else)."Griff the Invisible" takes the whole superheroes-in-the-real-world to a level not previously seen in other films dealing with the subject (like "Kick-Ass" or "Super").
Released in the same year as Kick Ass, Griff the Invisible is also about a wannabe superhero.
Working in an office at day, bullied and seen as weird by his coworkers, Ryan Kwanten's character assumes the identity of Griff the Protector at night.
Doomed to be forever weird, his salvation comes in the form of another weird person, played by the ridiculously beautiful Maeve Dermody, who falls for him as the only person who is like her that she has met.Now, I can't really say if I liked the movie or not.
I loved the idea of the invisibility cloak made by soaking a suit in invisible ink and other quirky ideas like that, but in the end we are talking about weird romance and not superheroes, a switch that comes into play around the middle of the film.
In fact, along with The Incredibles, I'd put it as only the 2nd good superhero film post 2000.
As with all good films, it's best to know as little about the plot as possible.
The end scene is left unexplained (no external 'eye', just the world through the eyes of the characters), which I find a good choice.
Here too, the female character is compelling, and the actor you loved in True Blood is playing a similar role as in the series (slightly low on the IQ scale), but with many more nuances and a lot of charm.
This is definitely one of the most interesting variation in the wave of super- hero/vigilante films we saw recently.Watch it, you won't regret it..
To keep his superhero costume in working order and incorporate new technologies, Griff visits a local hardware store and always warns the cashier to forget he was ever there.Melody (Maeve Dermody) also has a secret.
Griff, on the other hand, does not see hardly any reality and this strikes Melody as the most wonderful thing she has ever seen.The story and interactions between aloof Griff and curious Melody work.
Unfortunately, when they are apart and it is just Griff and his superhero activities, the film is a complete mess.
Griff is really not a very interesting character when it is just him in his apartment trying out new superhero ideas.
Melody is the character the audience cares about and wants to watch, so whenever she is off screen, you spend that time just waiting for her to reappear..
Ultimately the main characters had too easy a passage through their challenges.Kwanten & Dermody give good performances in the lead roles, but the script didn't give the supporting actors much to work with.
Unfortunately, some of the supporting cast proceeded to give even less.The relationship between Griff the Title Character (Kwanten) and his brother Tony was handled quite nicely.
Everyone wants Australian films to be successful and so watching this I wanted to like it.
Indeed the script really doesn't allow the audience to identify with many of the characters and it's all wrapped up so quickly at the end (again, predictably) that you're left wondering why you didn't leave half way through.Kudos to Maeve Dermody who carries the cast but all round this would be better going straight to DVD.
This movie makes you think differently at the end of it.
When the movie started out, I thought I was in for an interesting super-hero movie.
Throw in a potential love triangle with the main character, his brother, and his brothers girlfriend, and it seems like it has potential to be a goofy super hero movie, with the expectation it might be light on action.But soon you find the movie dragging on with nothing really too interesting happening, just moving from one scene to the next where you don't feel any real connection to the characters.
The music and the idea that something interesting might present itself further in the plot kept me in my seat through to the end, but I had to struggle when it felt like it was going nowhere.At the end of the day, this movie isn't a comedy, it isn't an action/super-hero movie, and it isn't a drama.
Griff the Invisible – TRASH IT (C-) Aussie The Griff is one of the stupidest movie ever, it's about a wanna be super hero who lives in illusion and when you think he is indeed the stupidest person on planet, here comes the girl who is even more crazier and lunatic than Griff himself.
Our love for Ryan Kwanten Aka. Jason Stackhouse may make us bear this unexplainable movie but it doesn't mean it's good or even mediocre.
Ryan Kwanten tried his best to make us believe in his craziness but in the end it seemed like a joke played on audiences.
"Griff the Invisible" is just as much so as "Super".
Dictionary definition states the following: antihero is a central character of a work of fiction who lacks the traditional heroic virtues.All the usual shenanigans are there in the case of Griff: a very unsympathetic protagonist, a lack of motivation, a lack of a defined antagonist (bad for a superhero movie, "Super" had a good one though) and a very strong female lead.The movie is essentially about an adult that's unable to grow up, living in a fantasy world and a girl that comes to his aid.
It goes without saying that one would never survive such a transformation.Oh, yes, there's also a lot of metaphysical garbage as well and as some of us may know: metaphysics is useless because it can be used to explain everything, since it itself is built out of the unknowable.The only two good things I have to say about Griff are as follows.
She's also a great actress, I hope to see her in a movie that is actually good.
Griff the invisible twists this, in the same way Unbroken twists this Genre but without the boring monologues, with a stack of Humour and far more character depth.
Be it Melody who does not want to be in a typical society, Griff the true hero of the film or various brothers/bosses/onlookers.
Not only does Griff the invisible make you think about introspection and how you fit into a world as an individual.
A movie you will fall in love with, a true 10 star film..
This is a cute story about a couple people that don't fit in the world the way they "should".
With so much going on in this movie it is interesting that the best way to sum it up is to talk about the weird cute couple.
PaperMan, Defendor, Birdman, and Super all are movies that I feel Griff the Invisible fall into this same category.
Griff the invisible just went the safe route, focusing on the love story and then ending rather abruptly.
At some points it's possible to imagine that this collection of whimsical clichés might make a good children's film, but the lack of dramatic shape, or of a convincing world for the characters to inhabit, would have children heading for the exit long before I did.
This movie made it enjoyable to share the character's blurred line between imagination and reality, to fight crime and do amazing things.Totally clean humor fun.
Glad I paid attention to details that make it LOL funny numerous times, both at the characters and myself.Nothing at all like other recent similarly framed films.With surprises along the way, Griff is a refreshing a dash of fantasy science fiction, with a focus that reminds me that innovation starts with imagination - portrayed in a simple way that brings it all down to earth.Though there was heartbreak, it ended perfectly; plus an extra star for appreciating kitties..
That's the question "Griff the Invisible" poses at its start, introducing us to a quiet, painfully shy office worker who takes the law into his own hands when the sun goes down.
But what at first seems like it's going to be a quirky riff on the superhero formula goes in surprising, and surprisingly serious, directions, and gives us instead a movie about what it means to be normal in a world that can be anything but.Ryan Kwanten buries his natural good looks under a socially awkward persona and gives a sweet, painful performance as Griff.
He plays Griff rather like a benign version of Travis Bickle, Robert De Niro's uber-scary character in "Taxi Driver," an unassuming guy who's completely out of touch with the world around him and goes home at night to entertain fantasies about being the hero in the drama of his own making.Of course "Taxi Driver" goes into far darker places than "Griff the Invisible," and that's actually one of the things I didn't like about the latter movie.
Funnily enough, His brother's Girlfriend who also happens to be a bit odd falls in love with him and the movie poses an interesting question about living in your dreams and in the real world.
What I really didn't like was that the movie was not sure how it wanted to go ahead with the story.
Yet, in a way you still find it interesting because you are able to relate to the main character maybe not entirely but in bits and pieces and a beautiful love story to compliment.
One co-worker in particular bullies him and piles a great deal of his work onto Griff.
One day, Tim happens to meet a lovely lady, Melody (Maeve Dermody) and, after one date, he tells Griff that she is THE ONE.
Never having head a real romance, will Griff respond to Melody's charms, and, hurt his own brother?
This is quite an unusual film from Australia but rather enjoyable for those who like things a bit different.
His caring but stupid brother has helped him out with a new job, and alpha male of the new office, Toby Shmitz, takes great pride in bullying poor Griff, again.Griff takes matters into his own hands and this is where the movie starts to make sense.
Admittedly the first 20 minutes are confusing as we aren't sure if it is a super hero movie or a crime drama gone wrong.
Griff The Invisible is a lovely story about Griff (Ryan Kwanten – True Blood) and Melody (Maeve Dermody – Beautiful Kate) who live in their own solitary worlds.
They come together when they discover they are a like with their passion for the impossible.Griff is a quiet character who gets teased at his office day job.
I actually got goose bumps when her hand imprinted in the wall when she first succeeds, hair raising stuff.This is a true Australian style film with lots of humour and great Aussie actors; Patrick Brammall, Toby Schmitz, Marshall Napier and Heather Mitchell.I felt so many different emotions, some I'm not familiar with.
A super-hero flavored thought experiment about fantasy worlds.
Griff the Invisible is more about the clash between a persons fantasy world and the real world around him than being a real-life super-hero film similar to Defendor.
It starts out like a vigilante film but as the film progresses it becomes clear that most of the super hero things happening around Griff only exists in his fantasy world.
But near the end, it turns out that Griff actually wants to live in this fantasy world out of his own choosing.
Even though this is an unusual approach to the real-life super hero concept it is only very briefly touched in the film by the dialogues and actions of Melody.
While the film has a very strong female lead with a colorful and lovable performance from Maeve Dermody, the male lead, the titular character Griff, falls short on these issues and after the half of the film he becomes a dull and boring character.
Melody represent the fantasy world VS real world issues better then Griff who seems to be stuck in the fantasy world and with the exception of a scene near the end of the film, he is like a mentally challenged poor guy who fails on nearly every aspect.
I think the main problem of the film is it tries to explain its main point through Melody not through Griff.
Thus, in my opinion, had it been focused on Melody, and Griff being the male supporting character, the film would be much more interesting to watch and its main idea would be far more effective..
At night, Griff sees himself as a superhero, fighting crime as a means of justice.
Griff's brother Tim (Patrick Brammall) has moved back from Adelaide to make sure that he isn't returning to his superhero phase and warns him about staying out of trouble.
When Griff is introduced to Tim's new girlfriend Melody (Maeve Dermody) there's an instant attraction between the two of them.
The first twenty minutes had pricked my curiosity, as I really enjoyed Griff's character at the time and the chemistry in the office.
If you were like me thinking you were about to see a kick-ass action flick the beginning of the movie does the trick.
Sitting in your sit like thinking "yeah this is getting good" midway through the film it gets away from all of that and just when you think that there's gonna be like some awesome boss battle at the end of the movie or something the only thing he has to battle is himself and the fight for love.
Great kid's film play it for a little girl or something though because a boy would not like this film nor do I think you would want a little boy to watch this.
This is a quirky romantic/comedy - NOT A SUPERHERO MOVIE.That said - it is amazing if not for the fact nothing is "real".2 people find each other and you feel very good for them.The special effects are very amazing - enough to confuse you into forgetting this is NOT a superhero movie.
This is not a super-hero movie.
It was deliberate.The movie "Super" was similar in that respect, and if not for my policy of watching a movie till the end no matter what, I would have walked out in the middle both times.
Not a super-hero movie, not action, definitely not comedy, and not quite romance.
The reveal at the end should have been Griff really being invisible on the security tapes - and we find that while being a peon in this dimension, he is a revered hero in another.
Could've been a great story about redemption, belief in yourself, love conquering all and doing the right thing no matter how much somebody else tells you you're wrong.