The Invasion (2007)

Director:

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Writers (WGA):

Dave Kajganich (screenplay)
Jack Finney (novel)

Release Date:

17 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Do not trust anyone. Do not show emotion. Do not fall asleep.

Plot:

As a Washington psychiatrist unearths the origin of an alien epidemic, she also discovers her son might be the only way it can be stopped.

Plot Keywords:

Train Tunnel | Emotional Control | Shot To Death | City | Doctor

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Carol Bennell
Daniel Craig	...	Ben Driscoll
Jeremy Northam	...	Tucker Kaufman
Jackson Bond	...	Oliver
Jeffrey Wright	...	Dr. Stephen Galeano
Veronica Cartwright	...	Wendy Lenk
Josef Sommer	...	Dr. Henryk Belicec
Celia Weston	...	Ludmilla Belicec
Roger Rees	...	Yorish
Eric Benjamin	...	Gene
Susan Floyd	...	Pam
Stephanie Berry	...	Carly
Alexis Raben	...	Belicec's Aide
Adam LeFevre	...	Richard Lenk
Joanna Merlin	...	Joan Kaufman

Also Known As:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (USA) (working title)
The Visiting (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and terror.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43529) | Netherlands:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | UK:15 | Sweden:15 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

While filming at the Chilean Embassy in Washington D.C., Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig were to drive a white SUV to the entrance, stop the car and allow valets to park it. Kidman forgot to place the car in park and as she got out it began to roll down the hill. Craig swooped in from the passenger side and dove at the car, hitting the emergency brake and stopping the disaster from proceeding. This happened during heavy rain effects.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Carol pushes the button in the elevator for floor 29 she gets out of the elevator on floor 35.

Quotes:

Yorish: I say that civilization is an illusion, a game of pretend. What is real is the fact that we are still animals, driven by primal instincts. As a psychiatrist, you must know this to be true.
Carol: To be honest, ambassador, when someone starts talking to me about the truth, what I hear is what they're telling me about themselves more than what they're saying about the world.
Dr. Henryk Belicec: Quite right, well done, doctor.
Yorish: Perhaps this is true, perhaps being a Russian in this country is a kind of pathology. So what do you think, can you help me? Can you give me a pill? To make me see the world the way you Americans see the world. Can a pill help me understand Iraq, or Dafur, or even New Orleans?
Dr. Henryk Belicec: Don't be drawn in by his madness, doctor. He is Russian, he needs to argue like he needs to breathe.
Yorish: All I am saying is that civilization crumbles whenever we need it most. In the right situation, we are all capable of the most terrible crimes. To imagine a world where this was not so, where every crisis did not result in new atrocities, where every newspaper is not full of war and violence. Well, this is to imagine a world where human beings cease to be human.
Carol: While I'll give you that we still retain some basic animal instincts, you have to admit we're not the same animal we were a few thousand years ago.
Yorish: True.
Carol: Read Piaget, Kohlberg or Maslow, Graves, Wilber, and you'll see that we're still evolving. Our consciousness is changing. Five hundred years ago, postmodern feminists didn't exist yet one sits right beside you today. And while that fact may not undo all of the terrible things that have been done in this world, at least it gives me reason to believe that one day, things may be different.
Yorish: Thank you, doctor.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remake of Body Snatchers (1993)

Soundtrack:

The Girl From Ipanema

Travesty

The 70s remake of this film succeeded because it was a chilling psychological thriller with little to no horror film elements and a biting ending that lingered with you for days.

This film starts out with the premise and setup, but quickly deviates into a different film -- a rehashing of 28 days later and outbreak with illogical, formulaic action sequences that are literally lifted straight from any zombie film. As usual with sub-par screenplays, the plot requires illogical and implausible events to move forward and provide thrills. In the end, it couldn't make up its mind whether it was an intellectually compelling, psychological thriller or yet another zombie action film? The ending was ... eh I don't even want to explain it.