An Invisible Sign
{{short description|2010 film by Marilyn Agrelo}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| image = An Invisible Sign Poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Marilyn Agrelo
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Pamela Falk
- Michael Ellis
- Jana Edelbaum
- Lynette Howell
}}
| screenplay = {{Plainlist|
- Pamela Falk
- Michael Ellis
}}
| based_on = {{based on|An Invisible Sign of My Own|Aimee Bender}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| music = Andrew Hollander
| cinematography = Lisa Rinzler
| editing = Sabine Hoffmann
| studio = {{Plainlist|
- iDeal Partners Films
- 120dB Films
- Silverwood Films
- Kimmel International
}}
| distributor = IFC Films
| released = {{Film date|2010|10|07|Hamptons Film Festival|2011|05|06|United States}}
| runtime = 96 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $51,138{{cite web|title=An Invisible Sign |website=Box Office Mojo |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=invisiblesign.htm |accessdate=January 15, 2024}}
}}
An Invisible Sign is a 2010 American drama film directed by Marilyn Agrelo and starring Jessica Alba, Chris Messina, John Shea and J. K. Simmons. Based on the 2001 novel An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender, the film is about a painfully withdrawn young woman who, as a child, turned to math for comfort after her father became ill, and now as an adult, teaches the subject and must help her students through their own crises.
The film received negative reviews from critics and grossed $51,138 at the box office.
Plot
Mona Gray systematically withdraws from life into a world of mathematics after a mysterious mental illness leaves her father incapacitated and a shell of his former self. Forced by her mother to move out on her own, Mona gets a job as a math teacher at an elementary school. There she discovers she has an unorthodox talent for teaching and finds herself thrust back into life again, with children to care for, and a reason to live. Mona takes special interest in one of her students, Lisa Venus, whose mother is dying of cancer.
When fellow teacher Ben Smith shows romantic interest in her, Mona reverts to some of her old self-destructive impulses. Eventually, Mona discovers her value in the love she shows her students, and she and Ben find love in each other.
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Jessica Alba as Mona Gray
- Bailee Madison as Young Mona
- Chris Messina as Ben Smith
- Sônia Braga as Mom
- John Shea as Dad
- J. K. Simmons as Mr. Jones
- Sophie Nyweide as Lisa Venus
- Marylouise Burke as Ms. Gelband
- Ashlie Atkinson as Lisa's Aunt
- Jake Siciliano as Elmer Gravlaki
- Joanna P. Adler as Lisa's mom
- Lilly Hartley as Female Runner
}}
Production
Aimee Bender's 2001 novel An Invisible Sign of My Own was adapted for the screen by The Wedding Planner scribes Michael Ellis and Pamela Falk.{{cite AV media|people=Marilyn Agrelo (director) |title=An Invisible Sign |medium=DVD |publisher=MPI Home Video |location=Orland Park, Illinois |year=2010 |url= }} Filming locations included Steiner Studios and Tarrytown, New York.
Release
An Invisible Sign premiered at the 18th Hamptons International Film Festival{{cite web|title=HIFF 2010 Program Announced |url=http://hamptonsfilmfest.org/2010/09/2010hiffprogra/ |website=Hamptons International Film Festival |accessdate=May 28, 2012 |date=September 15, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924211810/http://hamptonsfilmfest.org/2010/09/2010hiffprogra/ |archivedate=September 24, 2010 }} on October 7, 2010. It was released through video on demand on April 1, 2011, and premiered in theaters on May 6, 2011.{{cite web|title=An Invisible Sign |website=IFC Films |url=http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/an-invisible-sign |accessdate=March 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316171306/http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/an-invisible-sign |archivedate=March 16, 2011 }}
Reception
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|0|3.1|15|consensus=|access-date=January 15, 2024|ref=y}} {{Metacritic film prose|23|7|ref=yes|access-date=January 15, 2024}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20110316171306/http://www.ifcfilms.com:80/films/an-invisible-sign}} (archive)
- {{IMDb title}}
- {{rotten-tomatoes}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Invisible Sign}}
Category:Films based on American novels
Category:Films shot in New York City
Category:Films set in New York City
Category:Films directed by Marilyn Agrelo