{2jtab: Movie Review}

I’ve never read Aimee Bender’s novel and, based on director Marilyn Agrelo's puzzling adaptation, I am not sure that I ever will.  An Invisible Sign is a frustrating mess of undeveloped ideas, wasted story lines, and a series of mental illnesses that I’m not sure were ever honestly diagnosed by the film.  With its quirk factor in a multiplied state of awareness, An Invisible Sign puts itself into a Juno-wannabe corner that it never has the confidence to leave.

Opening with a bizarrely twisted animated fairy tale, the film simply has nowhere to go after suggesting that its parts are better than its whole.  Twentysomething number-obsessed Mona Gray (Jessica Alba) realizes her life isn’t perfect.  She’s mentally ill.  Her father is schizophrenic.  Her mother just kicked her out of the house and - after learning that she has a degree in mathematics - the local elementary school hires her as a teacher.  Things could not get any worse.

They do.  She eats soap as a coping mechanism for God’s sake.  Clearly, Mona is in over her head with all these new responsibilities.  Her elementary class is out of control because she enforces no rules; her father – in spite of her belief in the healing power of knocking on things and seeing the world via numbers – is not getting any better; and a blue-bladed ax hangs on the wall of her classroom (representing the number 7).  Now, an equally quirky teacher, Ben (Chris Messina), is making the moves on her.  What’s a girl supposed to do?

The mechanics behind the narrative - adapted by Michael Ellis and Pamela Falk (The Wedding Planner) - desperately what you to find meaning in the nonsensical antics of numbers and human nature.  There are none.  You will realize, about halfway through, that there is nothing to it.  This isn’t a representation of life or the world just outside your front door.  For all its talk of math and numbers, though, An Invisible Sign follows no logic I know.

Even Mona’s elementary math teacher, Mr. Jones (J.K. Simmons, underused here as he is the only believable character), can’t make sense of her issues.  Alba still can’t act all that well.  She’s all beauty, no convincing.  Here, the make-up folks play down her looks with a serious “plain Jane” makeover that tries to sell her mental hiccups with just a hint of a good-looking chaser.  It works.  Messina is a good balance to her mental instability, but his character is a tired one and, beyond “getting the girl”, does little to make his audience care for him.  Even the performances from the children in Mona’s classroom – while put in some pretty unbelievable situations - are pretty decent and still this film struggles to find its groove.

Director Agrelo tries to keep things fresh and cool by spilling out animated numbers at certain times as Mona knocks upon things.  The moments pull the wrong chord, though.  It isn’t out of a somber earnest to drive the narrative toward its destination because – after a countless collection of scenes and memories that go nowhere – we have nowhere to go.  It’s just a fancy way of trying to keep its audience from totally falling asleep.

It’s being billed as a shy romance but, truthfully, An Invisible Sign is simple nonsense.

{2jtab: Film Details}

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic material and some disturbing images.
Director: Marilyn Agrelo
Writer: Pamela Falk, Michael Ellis
Cast: Jessica Alba; Bailee Madison; L.K. Simmons; Chris Messina; Sonia Braga
Genre: Comedy | Drama | Family
Tagline: Count on the unexpected.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Can I live with you after my mom die?"
Distributor: IFC Films
Official Site: No theatrical release
Theatrical Release Date: August 20, 2010
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 1, 2011

Synopsis: Mona Gray is a 20-year-old loner who, as a child, turned to math for salvation after her father became ill. As an adult, Mona now teaches the subject and must help her students through their own crises.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Component Grades Movie Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - November 1, 2011
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Playback: Region A

Released by MPI Media Group, An Invisible Sign looks much better than the whole of the narrative.  The 1080p transfer is stylistically drained of its color.  Muted browns, grays, yellows, and blues fill the screen with color.  The detail is fine and captures the mood of the characters perfectly.  Shadows are even and the inky blacks never pool outside of their defined spaces.  There’s nothing spectacular here, just an average release.  The sound – presented in a fairly bland DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track – gives weight to the dialogue, but loses in its treatment of the music.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None.

Special Features:

With only a trailer as its sole supplemental offering, it seems no one is willing to claim this movie and no one wants to talk about it.  Sweep it under the rug, folks.

{2jtab: Trailer}

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