The Invisible Man has turned out to be one of the most successful and scariest horror films of the year, but it turns out that it’s not the first time that Elisabeth Moss has played a role like the threatened Cecilia.
The Invisible Man is an explosive, modern update to H.G. Wells’ classic monster story. Universal struggled for years to bring their famous monsters into a successful modern light, but Leigh Whannell’s smart adaptation is exactly the kind of boost that these old fashioned creatures needed to prove that they’re still relevant. Whannell’s film has been commended for its impressive special effects, mature themes, and earned scares, but it’s also a movie that features some truly memorable performances by its cast.
Elisabeth Moss has given strong, emotional performances in series like Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale, but she brings a rawness and vulnerability to her role as Cecilia that adds so much to the film. As much as The Invisible Man is about a renegade killer and supernatural deaths, it’s even more Cecilia’s story about finding independence from a toxic relationship and her evolution through this painful revenge story. Part of the reason that Moss is able to channel such emotion into her performance might have something to do with how she’s played a very similar character before, albeit in highly different circumstances.
The Invisible Man Repeats Elisabeth Moss’ Batman: TAS Role
Before superhero films were the norm and Christopher Nolan had given Batman a refreshing makeover, Batman: The Animated Series was seen as one of the best takes on the Dark Knight. Batman: The Animated Series paired smart storytelling with unassuming animation and in addition to telling some very satisfying Batman stories, it also featured some admirable vocal performances from notable talents, Elisabeth Moss included.
Elisabeth Moss appears in the episode "See No Evil" as Kimmy Ventrix, the daughter of Lloyd Ventrix, a deranged errand boy turned thief who has gotten away with an invisibility suit. As much as Lloyd uses his invisibility suit to perform robberies, he's more concerned about losing his daughter to his ex-wife and has been using the suit to secretly keep tabs on her and befriend her as an "imaginary" presence. Much like in The Invisible Man, Elisabeth Moss plays a character who is tricked into trusting her abuser, who uses his invisibility power as a way to hold power over the women in their life. While the dynamic isn’t entirely the same, both of the Invisible Men in these stories are preoccupied with their children and the idea of their legacy living on, even if it’s through twisted means.
“See No Evil” is more an emotional drama about Lloyd’s manipulation of his daughter than it is an episode about Batman hunting down a villain. It marks some of Moss’ earlier work in her career, but her performance as Kimmy is still a highly empathetic one. She’s a character who just wants to find love and be able to trust the people in her life. In the end of “See No Evil”, Kimmy is still just a child, but she manages to find her own degree of independence away from her father, much like how Cecilia in The Invisible Man matures as an individual, too.