The Invisible Thread Parent Guide

For a year-end project in film class, Leone (Francesco Gheghi) is making a documentary of his family, which includes both of his dads, Paolo and Simone (Filippo Timi and Francesco Sianna). Also in the mix is his American surrogate mother, Tilly (Jodhi May), and his found-family Aunt Monica (Valentina Cervi). Despite the unusual configuration, Leone’s friend and project partner, Jacopo (Emanuele Maria Di Stefano) complains that the documentary feels a bit bland: what it really needs a plot twist.

A real life plot twist arrives with a vengeance. A lost phone shows Paolo that Simone has been unfaithful, and their relationship blows up over their anniversary dinner. As the men stew in bitterness and destroy each other’s possessions, they each decide that they need to know which one of them is Leone’s biological father. Each man swipes some of Leone’s genetic material for analysis, but the answer comes as a surprise to everyone…

How you feel about The Invisible Thread will partially depend on your beliefs around same sex marriages. If you hold traditional views, you will see this movie as normalizing gay marriage. If you hold contemporary opinions, you will be relieved that this movie normalizes gay relationships to the point that they are just as dysfunctional as heterosexual ones. These characters are all human: flawed and a little bit crazy – whether they are gay or straight.

Another factor that will play into your judgment of the film is its quality, and there it disappoints. The acting feels a trifle overwrought, with the exception of Francesco Gheghi’s portrayal of Leone. He gives us a normally sensible teen, level-headed, kind, and tolerant, who’s struggling with the meltdown of his family. Given his age, poor decisions are far more understandable than they are with his emotionally out-of-control fathers.

A bigger problem with the movie is its abundance of negative content. There are over five dozen swear words in the movie, most of which are sexual expletives. There is also frequent alcohol consumption and drug use, much of it underage. Teens casually use marijuana, ecstasy, and amphetamines, and behave recklessly while high. Characters of all ages smoke cigarettes. Sex, of course, is a theme of the film and there are jokes about masturbation and mention of a “threesome”. There are frequent scenes of people kissing – both straight and gay couples. There is also a scene of implied teenage sexual activity: the couple are seen undressing each other in bed and then the camera cuts away. Consent is clear but there is no discussion of contraception.

The Invisible Thread tries to be a feel-good film about the strength we find in families, but its festival of negative content makes it a difficult film to recommend. It contains several touching scenes but, frankly, I can’t get over the sense that this family is being held together by a teenager. And that’s just not his job.