156.The Invisible Guest

The Invisible Guest (2016) Contratiempo (original title): Another well crafted film from the director of ‘El Cuerpo’.

Language: Spanish

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Director: Oriol Paulo

Writer: Oriol Paulo

Stars: Mario Casas, Ana Wagener, Jose Coronado

In 2016, 4 years after his first directional venture with the critically acclaimed ‘El Cuerpo’ (The Body, 2012) Oriol Paulo came with another crime thriller ’The Invisible Guest’. The film follows a wealthy Barcelona businessman accused of murdering his mistress. Must work out a perfect defense in less than just three hours, with the help of a witness preparation expert.

Adrian Doria a wealthy businessman named Man of the Year due to his high-tech company and his trade agreements with the Asian market, wakes up in a locked hotel room next to the body of his dead lover Laura Vidal. Adrian Doria claims that both he and his lover, Laura, were attacked by an unseen assailant, who then vanished from their locked hotel room. His lawyer sends top witness coach Virginia Goodman to help him get his story straight before the judge calls him to the stand, which could happen in next 3 hours. Adrian talks Virginia about the crime and his relationship with Laura, revealing that both suffered a car crash where a man called Daniel Garrido died, and how Laura manipulated Adrian to avoid the jail by Daniel's death. Virginia and Adrian keep talking about the case but her, unconvinced of the Adrian's testimony, forces him to clear the dark points of his history, in a puzzle where the truth and the lie are easily exchangeable.

Likewise El Cuerpo, The Invisible Guest is also a well crafted crime thriller with a well written script by the director himself. The treatment is very much similar to Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects , Here the story unfolds in a series of flashbacks, as Adrian hastily recounts the events leading up to Laura’s death, while Virginia’s probing questions untangle a web of lies dating back to the disappearance of a young man three months previously. The plot unveils so gradually and beautifully that by the time it has reached its peak it will lead the audience to swept up. The story puts you on edge and tickles your curiosity throughout.

The fantastic performance of the lead actors is one of the main highlights of this thriller, each and every one of the cast has superbly performed. Though I must say the performance by Mario Casas as Adrian Doria, Blanca Martínez as Virginia Goodman and Jose Coronado as Tomas Garrido stand out.

I will recommend this movie to all movie lovers and especially to the fans of crime-mystery thriller genre.