Landscape with Invisible Hand, 2023.
Written and Directed by Cory Finley.
Starring Asante Blackk, Kylie Rogers, Tiffany Haddish, Josh Hamilton, Michael Gandolfini, Brooklynn MacKinzie, William Jackson Harper, Clifton Collins Jr., Christian Adam, and Whitney Goin.
SYNOPSIS:
When an occupying alien species’ bureaucratic rule and advanced technology leaves most of Earth impoverished and unemployed, two teenagers hatch a risky plan to ensure their families’ futures.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Landscape with Invisible Hand wouldn’t exist.
Landscape with Invisible Hand begins with a series of portraits that gradually takes viewers roughly ten years into the future, where an alien race known as the Vuvv has arrived on earth and more or less taken over through the human race’s stupidity and naivety in believing all the promises that by joining forces everyone will be able to prosper.
Those paintings come from Asante Blackk’s Adam, a depressive high schooler with artistic ambitions. He lives with his former lawyer mother, Beth (Tiffany Haddish), and sister, Natalie (Brooklynn MacKinzie), stuck scraping by however they can as the rich have accepted jobs and a life elsewhere with the aliens. The father of the house also left for California, supposedly the only place remaining to find regular work and make an honest living.
Adam also befriends new student Chloe (Kylie Rogers), with a family down on their luck from the invasion, seeing them constantly moving and now living in their car. Empathetic and quickly falling for the girl, Adam takes it upon himself to invite her and her well-meaning father (Josh Hamilton) and ignorant brother Hunter (Michael Gandolfini) to live in the basement until their situation improves.
As Adam and Chloe become more comfortable around one another and the idea of dating, the latter suggests broadcasting their love to the Vuvv, which the aliens seek out as they cannot feel romantic emotions and would like to understand that dynamic better, all in exchange for a decent amount of money (it’s reminiscent of streaming but with a device attached to the head.) Adam feels awkward doing this but continues to do so out of his affection for Chloe, who is more than fine with allowing others to glimpse what they feel for one another.
Based on the novel by M.T. Anderson and adapted for the screen/directed by Cory Finley (a fascinating filmmaker seemingly capable of working in multiple genres, if the dark and moody Thoroughbreds and humorous real-life story Bad Education, and now adapting sci-fi novels, or anything to go by), that dynamic alone provides enough intriguing material to mine for dry humor, entertainment, and social commentary, but it is one small section inside a film trying to do far too much.
I can’t speak to whether or not this works in the book, but as a film, Landscape with Invisible Hand routinely becomes something else, struggling to characterize these people meaningfully along the way. It’s also not nearly as funny as it feels like it should be, and the film is assuredly going for that tone at times.
From there, questions are brought up about whether characters actually love each other or not, Chloe’s family causes drama in a forced manner, and then gender roles come into play during a stretch where one of these aliens attempts to get a first-hand experience of what it’s like being married and having a family. Amusingly, it gets stuck on outdated norms while watching sitcoms from years past. There is also a brief scene where Adam’s father temporarily returns at the most convenient storytelling moment, further giving the impression that this is all empty social commentary and less interested in ensuring that these character dynamics come across as genuine.
What can be said is that the Vuvv have a distinct look to them, resembling crabs with paddles for hands. Given the presumably low budget, the CGI and special effects on display give a cuteness to these merciless creatures. The world created within Landscape with Invisible Hand is indeed ripe for relevant commentary, but this misfire of an adaptation feels as if it’s more concerned with hitting the story beats rather than digging into them.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
