An Invisible Sign [Blu-ray]

This is romantic comedy for all ages. An off-beat 'coming of age' story about a young mathematically-gifted girl who uses numbers to hide from grown-up realities. Her beloved, mathematician, dad's break-down and increasing detachment from reality causes her to irrationally forsake all pleasures except math. When she is pushed (by Mom) into the adult role of math teacher at an elementary school, she realizes that she must become the grown-up authority for her students. Gradually, she recognizes that her infantile, self-destructive impulses can be controlled. She is urgently needed by Lisa, her young student who is soon to be orphaned. Mona's grown-up epiphany is "There comes a moment when you look around waiting for the person in charge to help you. Then you realize you're the only adult in the room. You ARE the person in charge, and you're not very good at it." But Mona accepts her teacher's role & most of the the kids trust her. Mona recognizes that she cannot 'keep her father company' as he becomes increasingly obsessive & delusional. In her own words, she 'no longer needs a bathroom monitor' and takes the risk of an intimate relationship again, this time with Ben Smith as an adult, not an adoring daughter.

The charm of this story is that all the main characters, both adults & children, have odd little habits but are likeable folks. Each is coping with personal or family tragedies -- yet there is very little violence, instead, several become neurotic, eccentric loners as a result. Jessica Alba , Chris Messina, & J K Simmons do solid jobs in creating the off-beat personalities in the film. If you like eccentric but kind-hearted schoolteachers, you're probably enjoy 'An Invisible Sign'.

This was an ALMOST perfect indie film -- an original tale about quirky, marginalized characters. But it's ruined when, during the film's last five minutes, an artificially sappy, happy Hollywood ending is tacked on.

Mona (Jessica Alba) is an emotionally troubled young woman. Her father appears to be schizophrenic. It's likely that Mona has inherited his mental disease (whatever that is) and will worsen with time.

Mona gets a job teaching math, though her mother lied about Mona having a college degree. Then a science teacher courts Mona, but she can't connect with him (or anyone). After he kisses her, she runs away and eats soap. She drives him away. Mona also brings an ax into class, because it's shaped like the number 7.

SPOILERS ...

Near the film's end, there's a classroom fight. Two of Mona's (also emotionally troubled) girl students fight over the ax (while the boys fight over a prosthetic limb). One of the girls just lost her mother to cancer. The other girl's parents are going through a messy divorce. In the aftermath, one girl's forehead is bloodied against a glass pane. The other girl (carrying the ax) slips on urine, with the ax embedding itself into Mona's leg.

Mona is fired by the school.

Up until now, the film was filled with moments of poignancy and honest emotion -- but then in the FINAL 5 MINUTES -- after Mona's firing -- everything turns around for her with sudden ease.

* Mona is suddenly able to love the science teacher.

* Mona adopts the student who lost her mother to cancer.

* Mona's attorney threatens to sue the school, resulting in Mona getting her teaching job back.

This fake, SAPPY Hollywood ending ruins an otherwise courageous indie film.

The lawsuit is especially FAKE. Mona's attorney says that Mona has an excellent case against the school (for wrongful termination, one presumes).

ON WHAT PLANET?

* Mona has NO college degree. Her mother LIED to the school district about her qualifications, and Mona supported that lie. She is legally unqualified to teach. It wouldn't matter if she now promises to go to night school to get her degree, they can still fire her.

* One student was INJURED under Mona's supervision -- and others were endangered all because Mona brought an AX to class! Mona is lucky she isn't sued by the student's guardian. The guardian certainly has an excellent lawsuit against the school district.

* On top of which, Mona is still in her first year of teaching. She'd be under probation, without tenure. It'd be EASY to fire her, for a lot less.

The filmmakers should have kept the film real, honest, and authentic. Mona should not have had such an artificially happy turnaround on all fronts -- gets the guy, adopts the kid, gets her job back despite having NO case whatsoever against the school district.

I loved this film until the last 5 minutes, but the dishonest ending left a bad taste in my mouth.

This movie is kind of a rare bird. It seems a little bizzare, especially the ending, yet I loved it. Its about a girl who is to herself, quirky, and very creative. She sees things in different ways which inspire creativity. I really just want to write about what I liked. I loved the way she spent hours fixing her room and the bulletin boards, how she could see the way parts could fit together. I related to her world inside. She had a hard time connecting with others but it was shown in a way to make her special and unique. Her way of having children use their bodies to understand shapes, the way she thought of things rather than looking at lessons written in a book, done repitively throughout years of teaching. She wasn't your normal teacher and the staff was fun too. They weren't distant towards her uniqueness and they were unique too. They had personalities that made them different, not the bonding and belonging that sometimes happens, sometimes from burnout and forgetting your creativity. I just liked her freedom to be herself in all places, she didn't act like something she wasn't. There were colors and materials, books, things that felt safe and fun.