The Invisible Man: Every Time Adrian Is ACTUALLY Wearing The Suit

One of The Invisible Man‘s most shocking twists sees Adrian’s brother Tom in the invisibility suit instead of Adrian. With this reveal, audiences were left wondering if Tom appeared in the suit at any other point in the film, and how many times Adrian actually wore it in the movie. In a Collider interview promoting the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD release of the film, director Leigh Whannell settles this once and for all.

The Invisible Man retells H.G. Wells’ original story of a man who has discovered how to be invisible with a twist. In this version, scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) has utilize his expertise in optics in to create a suit that turns him invisible. He fakes his death and uses the suit to torment his ex-girlfriend, Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss). After she catches on and discovers Tom in the suit, she questions whether or not it was ever Adrian to begin with.

A major theme of The Invisible Man is domestic partner abuse and the aftermath of gaslighting on survivors. Director Leigh Whannell’s confirmation of each time Adrian appeared in the suit only further cemented this; a single moment of doubt showcased how raising these types of larger questions, even a little bit, has greater implications for Cecilia’s sanity.

Adrian Is In The Suit Every Time — Except for One

Whannell confirmed that Adrian appears in his suit every time the titular character is interacting with Cecilia and others in the movie, except the one time audiences see Tom in the suit. Cecilia returns to the Lanier house to find that Sydney and James are being attacked by someone she believes is Adrian. After shooting and unmasking him, she sees it’s actually Tom utilizing Adrian’s technology.

Earlier in the film, Tom admits that Adrian manipulated him just as much as he manipulated Cecilia. This was just another example of that, as Adrian tricked Tom into sacrificing himself, all in the name of tormenting Cecilia. After he set up Tom, Adrian made it look like Tom took him hostage and held him in his basement. After the cops discovered the illusion Adrian created, they blamed everything Cecilia experienced on Tom, which served to further convince her she was going crazy.

Only placing Tom in the suit once was a subtle way to further drive home the message of gaslighting, which is arguably one of the scariest elements of The Invisible Man. Adrian mastered the art of subtly driving Cecilia mad through his actions before and after their break-up. With the addition of his invisibility suit, he was able to do just enough to drive Cecilia’s loved ones away from her as well. None of them could possibly believe that her dead ex was tormenting her; this is a common tactic made by abusers – isolation. When Adrian orchestrated the moment in which Tom was revealed in the suit, it was the final nail in Cecilia’s metaphorical coffin. Whannell cleverly perpetuated the dangers of gaslighting in The Invisible Man by showing that one move can completely get in someone’s head by making them question everything they believed to be true.

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