Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023)

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Landscape with Invisible Hand dips a toe in the many proverbial waters it presents us, though never fully commits into any one of them. Based on M. T. Anderson’s 2017 novel, it’s about how the intangible forces with which we coexist have ways of making us corrupt humanity’s unique characteristics. The “invisible hand” being a reference to the concept of self-interest guiding what is considered valuable or worthless, and what that does to humanity on a large scale.

We see the commodification of love, financial instability, classism, and familial responsibility, as a way to express how the economic “invisible hand” incentives rejecting community for economic gain. Here all this happens under the premise of an alien invasion.

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It also splits humanity into two groups; those willing to sell their pride for economic security, and those who aren’t. It’s an argument of security or freedom when the only thing left to sell is your pride, except there doesn’t seem to be enough sympathy for both sides.

The film is told in chapters, each one beginning with a painting from our protagonist Adam Campbell (Asante Blackk). These arcs examine how the alliance between American corporations and the alien species, the Vuvv, have imposed unfair economic choices on families without the wherewithal to resist. Other characters include Adam’s love interest Chloe Marsh (Kylie Rogers), his mother Beth Campbel (Tiffany Haddish), and Chloe’s father, Mr. Marsh (Josh Hamilton), with each chapter exposing different characters to the choices brought about by an oddly docile alien invasion.

The Vuvv are, to symbolize the metaphor, indistinct tentacle creatures whose only interest in humans are their “primitive” emotions. They are meant to be robotic in their efficiency and devoid of emotional depth, which allows the arguments for security and freedom to come from the same group, the humans. The premise is meant to leave room so every character has a chance to decide for themselves what their pride is worth. But there’s a repeated misstep in each of these chapters; side characters arguing for security are given little to no sympathy, and in most cases are treated as shameful or pathetic.

Only one chapter has the choice of freedom feature a negative outcome, and even then there isn’t a “correct” choice, which should have been the point of the whole movie. Yet, in every other chapter the most ridiculous characters are on the side of security and their reasons are questionable at the very best and irritatingly ignorant at worst. Are we meant to sympathize with the perspective of the eyebrowless curmudgeon, Hunter Marsh (Michael Gandolfini), who has spent his entire screen time rudely barking at Adams family’s kindness? It doesn’t exactly leave the audience room to decide for themselves.

Writer/director Cory Finley (Bad Education) has crafted a film that wants to make a case for freedom, which in a vacuum is a noble pursuit. Countless other films championing either side have made sincere efforts, where the protagonist must let something go for the greater good or where a community is willing to sacrifice so the protagonist is released from unfair burdens. Here, there’s such an intense case for freedom that it demonizes the case for security, ignoring any nuance of the admirable qualities associated with self-sacrifice.

It would be disingenuous to call Landscape with Invisible Hand a bad movie; it’s more unfair than anything else. The acting, while amateurish, can be witty and surprisingly compelling, and the leads holds your attention with well-earned chemistry. The premise is easy to understand and the world is fleshed out to allow for seamless transitions between plot points. But all the production in the world doesn’t stop the film from misusing its elements, and in the end it all just feels one-sided.