Invisible Monsters
1st Golden Reel Awards
1 Win
Genre: Dark Comedy
Director: Ryan Murphy
Writer: D.R. Cobb
Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Cast:
Emily Blunt .... Shannon McFarland
Jessica Biel .... Brandy Alexander
Orlando Bloom .... Manus Kelley
Elisabeth Moss .... Evie Cottrell
Plot: Evie Cottrell's (Elisabeth Moss) family's estate is burning to the ground on her wedding day. She has just shot Brandy Alexander (Jessica Biel) - one surgery away from being a real woman. Evie turns to Shannon McFarland (Emily Blunt) - face covered by a veil - and asks her for her life story at gunpoint.
Shannon grows up on a farm. Her older brother Shane was kicked out of the house for being gay after a test for strep throat revealed itself to be gonorrhea. One day, their parents receive a phone call telling them that Shane is dead from AIDS. Throughout Shannon's high school years, her parents become big supporters of gay rights, so that even in death, Shane gets more attention than her. Shannon decides she wants to become a model to get the attention she desires. Shannon starts dating a police officer, Manus Kelley (Orlando Bloom) and starts attending modeling school where she meets Evie. Evie and Manus begin having an affair.
One day while driving down the highway, Shannon is shot in the face and hew jaw is ripped off. She immediately drives herself to the hospital she recovers, her lower jaw lost and modeling career over. In speech therapy, where she tries to learn how to speak with no lower jaw, she meets Brandy Alexander.
Evie suggests Shannon come live with her. When she arrives at the house, Evie immediately leaves for a trip to Cancun, leaving Shannon alone in the house. The first night, someone breaks in. It's Manus holding a large kitchen knife. Figuring out about the affair, Shannon drugs Manus and locks him in the trunk of her car and drives to Brandy's apartment. When Shannon arrives, she discovers that Brandy is really her brother Shane, who strives to look like his sister through surgery.
Brandy, Shannon and Manus begin traveling the country, viewing rich homes for sale in order to steal drugs and medication to use or sell. On one such trip, while rifeling through medicine cabinets Brandy tells Shannon that she was sexually abused by a policeman - Manus Kelley. Brandy also divulges that she is not actually transgender - Shane chose to become a woman as a way to disfigure himself. When they exit the bathroom, they discover that the realtor is Evie's mother. She tells them that they are marrying Evie off to save themselves trouble - and also that Evie used to be a man, before transitioning at a young age.
Brandy, Shannon and Manus all crash Evie's wedding where Shannon sets fire to the house.
Back in the present, Brandy realizes that she had previously met Evie in a transgender support group, and that through Evie Brandy discovered that Shannon was her sister and has known this since their first meeting. Shannon reveals that she shot herself in the face to permanently escape being beautiful. Brandy then passes out from bloodloss from the gunshot wound. In the hospital, Shannon leaves Brandy all of her identification, giving her brother her identity.
1 Win
- Best Supporting Actress - Elisabeth Moss
- Best Supporting Actress - Jessica Biel
Genre: Dark Comedy
Director: Ryan Murphy
Writer: D.R. Cobb
Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Cast:
Emily Blunt .... Shannon McFarland
Jessica Biel .... Brandy Alexander
Orlando Bloom .... Manus Kelley
Elisabeth Moss .... Evie Cottrell
Plot: Evie Cottrell's (Elisabeth Moss) family's estate is burning to the ground on her wedding day. She has just shot Brandy Alexander (Jessica Biel) - one surgery away from being a real woman. Evie turns to Shannon McFarland (Emily Blunt) - face covered by a veil - and asks her for her life story at gunpoint.
Shannon grows up on a farm. Her older brother Shane was kicked out of the house for being gay after a test for strep throat revealed itself to be gonorrhea. One day, their parents receive a phone call telling them that Shane is dead from AIDS. Throughout Shannon's high school years, her parents become big supporters of gay rights, so that even in death, Shane gets more attention than her. Shannon decides she wants to become a model to get the attention she desires. Shannon starts dating a police officer, Manus Kelley (Orlando Bloom) and starts attending modeling school where she meets Evie. Evie and Manus begin having an affair.
One day while driving down the highway, Shannon is shot in the face and hew jaw is ripped off. She immediately drives herself to the hospital she recovers, her lower jaw lost and modeling career over. In speech therapy, where she tries to learn how to speak with no lower jaw, she meets Brandy Alexander.
Evie suggests Shannon come live with her. When she arrives at the house, Evie immediately leaves for a trip to Cancun, leaving Shannon alone in the house. The first night, someone breaks in. It's Manus holding a large kitchen knife. Figuring out about the affair, Shannon drugs Manus and locks him in the trunk of her car and drives to Brandy's apartment. When Shannon arrives, she discovers that Brandy is really her brother Shane, who strives to look like his sister through surgery.
Brandy, Shannon and Manus begin traveling the country, viewing rich homes for sale in order to steal drugs and medication to use or sell. On one such trip, while rifeling through medicine cabinets Brandy tells Shannon that she was sexually abused by a policeman - Manus Kelley. Brandy also divulges that she is not actually transgender - Shane chose to become a woman as a way to disfigure himself. When they exit the bathroom, they discover that the realtor is Evie's mother. She tells them that they are marrying Evie off to save themselves trouble - and also that Evie used to be a man, before transitioning at a young age.
Brandy, Shannon and Manus all crash Evie's wedding where Shannon sets fire to the house.
Back in the present, Brandy realizes that she had previously met Evie in a transgender support group, and that through Evie Brandy discovered that Shannon was her sister and has known this since their first meeting. Shannon reveals that she shot herself in the face to permanently escape being beautiful. Brandy then passes out from bloodloss from the gunshot wound. In the hospital, Shannon leaves Brandy all of her identification, giving her brother her identity.
BOX OFFICE
Budget: $53,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $28,815,044
Foreign Box Office: $35,122,141
Total Profit: -$68,665,327
Budget: $53,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $28,815,044
Foreign Box Office: $35,122,141
Total Profit: -$68,665,327
REVIEWS
"All this movie does is to prove that Chuck Palahniuk's novel doesn't work as a film - or at least that Ryan Murphy seriously lacks the directorial touch to make it work" - Ken Giles, Houston Chronicle
"While the story is often hard to follow, it's hard not to get sucked in by the relentless energy and overall weirdness on display" - Charles Triano, Los Angeles Times
"Chuck Palahniuk's fans have been shouting for this book to get the adaptation treatment. I hope they're happy sitting through it on the big screen, because I certainly was not" - Stephen Ridley, Boston Globe
Rated R for language, strong sexual content, nudity, drug use, graphic images and some violence.
Filming Locations:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Originally, Jessica Biel was going to play both Brandy Alexander and Shannon McFarland, but the studio felt this would be confusing and insisted on two separate actresses.
- Ryan Murphy originally wanted to cast a male actor or a trans actor in the role of Brandy Alexander, but was unable to come up with a big enough name that fit the role to satisfy the budget requested.
-In order to avoid an NC-17 rating, the film had to be re-cut multiple times.
- Ryan Murphy originally wanted to cast a male actor or a trans actor in the role of Brandy Alexander, but was unable to come up with a big enough name that fit the role to satisfy the budget requested.
-In order to avoid an NC-17 rating, the film had to be re-cut multiple times.