Invincible is based on the true story of a fourteen year old young man named Marc-Antoine Bernier, specifically the last 48 hours of his life. To say the performances here are believable would be doing a disservice to all the actors involved as each one literally inhabits the role. From Léokim Beaumier-Lépine, who portrays Marc flawlessly, to even more minor characters like the moving performance from the young Élia St-Pierre who plays Marc’s little sister. Their special relationship is evident within minutes of seeing the two together on screen and adds a real sense of family and sets up what becomes an intense feeling of loss and hopelessness as the film unfolds.
In its under thirty minute runtime I must say that I have seen films well over a two hours with triple the budget that have far less to showcase than Invincible does here. Modern Hollywood storytellers and the big studios could learn a lot from writer/director Vincent René-lortie regarding how to tell more with less and do it with incredible style that appropriately fits your story and performances. René-lortie takes familiar settings like a lake, a neighborhood and a prison-like home for troubled youths and uses those settings to shatter the expectations of the viewer. He uses shadow, light and color like a conductor to masterfully see Marc’s feelings onscreen and, in doing so, forces us to form an emotional bond with a young man who so obviously is trying to find his way while acting out in rebellious—sometimes violent—ways.
But the emotional journey we see Marc take, while never spoken, is showcased in two shots that appear back-to-back. First we see a close up of an ant crawling on a sandwich, the soft white bread really drawing movement of the tiny insect to our eyes. Second is Marc’s interaction with a bee near the window of his room/cell. At first you expect him to crush the insect as it crawls into the palm of his hand. Instead, Marc gently watches it then helps it escape the room through a hole in the window. I couldn’t help but connect with Marc as sometimes our situations and the challenges we face make us feel small and helpless.
There’s definitely more here to see, feel and consider and that’s why I would highly recommend you watch Invincible more than once.
For more on the film as well as with an incredible interview with Vincent René-lortie and Ward W. Bond visit BondOnCinema.
