INVENTION – Review by Lois Alter Mark
With the line between fact and fiction so blurred these days, Invention sets the right tone for the moment. A creative mix of documentary and drama, the hybrid film definitely lives up to its name and may be the start of a fascinating new genre.
Filmmakers Callie Hernandez and Courtney Stephens collaborated on Invention after both losing their fathers. The two co-wrote the 71 minute film, with Stephens directing Hernandez as Carrie Fernandez, a version – but not quite the real one – of herself. The story revolves around Carrie’s attempt to come to terms with the death of her estranged dad, aka John, aka Dr J, aka many other aliases, according to the executor of his will.
She’s not surprised to learn that all of his money is gone, thanks to debts over an electromagnetic healing device he invented that was recalled by the FDA. The only thing he did leave her is the patent for the machine and the prototype itself, which is sitting in his closet. This strange device becomes the catalyst for Carrie’s exploration of her dad’s life and a way for her to get through the grieving period. Visually, it also becomes a consistent and unsettling focal point between scenes.
Not sure what she should do with the patent, Carrie seeks advice from different people her dad knew – a patient who swears he was doing “revolutionary work” and “changing people’s lives,” a manufacturer who encourages her to pray with him, an antique shop worker with whom she ends up having a relationship – as she tries to make sense of her dad and his invention.
We see her dad through actual, archival footage from the late ‘90s to 2020 as he’s interviewed about the machine and as he presents its benefits in infomercial-like TV segments. These clips serve to ground the film and remind us that its subject was a real human being although we’re not sure what else is real or true. The fact that the filmmakers occasionally break the fourth wall and let us hear their discussions adds another unexpected element to our viewing experience. But, because grief is messy and confusing and not linear, these cinematic “tricks” feel appropriate rather than gimmicky.
Adding to all of this are the conspiracy theories – the ones that Carrie’s father believed in and the ones that suggest he might have been “offed.” And, although we may never know if the device was a scam or a miracle worker, it served a purpose by inspiring this film and that alone makes it a success.
