Movies about aliens usually go one of two ways. Either they're here to vaporize the White House, or they're friendly, glowing-fingered botanists who just want to go home. Landscape with an Invisible Hand does something way more uncomfortable. It suggests that if aliens actually showed up, they wouldn't want our water or our lives. They’d want our content.
They’d want to watch us like a reality show.
Directed by Cory Finley and based on the 2017 novel by M.T. Anderson, this film is a biting, often gross, and deeply cynical look at late-stage capitalism through a sci-fi lens. It’s not a "blockbuster." It’s a mood. If you’ve ever felt like your entire life is just a series of performances for an audience you can’t see—Instagram, TikTok, your boss—then this movie hits a little too close to home.
The Vuvv Have Arrived (And They’re Cheap)
In the world of Landscape with an Invisible Hand, the invaders are the Vuvv. They look like slimy, four-legged coffee tables that communicate by rubbing their flippers together to make scratching noises. They didn't fire a single shot. They just arrived with superior technology and basically "disrupted" the global economy into oblivion.
Sound familiar?
The Vuvv brought automated labor and advanced medicine, which sounds great until you realize it made every human job obsolete overnight. Most people now live in poverty while the Vuvv hover above the Earth in opulent floating cities. This isn't a war movie. It’s an unemployment movie.
Our protagonist is Adam, played by Asante Blackt. He’s a young artist trying to navigate a world where human art has no value unless it serves a Vuvv purpose. He meets Chloe (Kylie Rogers), whose family is living in a car. To make money, they decide to broadcast their budding romance to the Vuvv via "Node" technology.
The Vuvv are obsessed with 1950s-style human romance. They find it "quaint."
So, Adam and Chloe wear these little nodes on their heads and broadcast their dates. Their feelings. Their first kiss. They get paid based on how many Vuvv "subscribers" tune in. It’s basically OnlyFans for emotions.
Performance as Survival
The genius of Landscape with an Invisible Hand is how it treats the "invisible hand" of the market. Adam and Chloe start off genuinely liking each other. But how do you stay in love when your paycheck depends on acting "more" in love?
👉 See also: When Was Kai Cenat Born? What You Didn't Know About His Early Life
The Vuvv eventually sue them. Seriously.
The aliens claim the teenagers aren't providing "authentic" romantic content anymore because their relationship is hitting a rough patch. It’s a hilarious and horrifying metaphor for the gig economy. You aren't just a worker; you’re a brand. If your brand falters, the "invisible hand" of the Vuvv market crushes you.
The film also stars Tiffany Haddish as Adam’s mother, Beth. She delivers a performance that’s way more grounded than her usual comedic roles. She eventually has to "marry" a Vuvv to provide for her family. Watching her try to navigate a "marriage" with a creature that doesn't understand human biology—and just wants to watch 1950s sitcoms—is some of the most effective satire I've seen in years.
It’s awkward. It’s meant to be.
Why the Satire Bites So Hard
Most sci-fi movies focus on the "specular." Huge ships. Laser beams. Cory Finley focuses on the mundane. He shows us the peeling wallpaper in Adam’s house and the awkward silence at the dinner table. The Vuvv are rarely even on screen in their full form; they are a looming, bureaucratic presence.
They are the ultimate "landlords" of Earth.
Landscape with an Invisible Hand works because it captures that specific 21st-century exhaustion. The feeling that you’re always being watched and always being graded. The Vuvv represent a hyper-advanced culture that has lost its soul, so they try to buy ours.
They don't understand us. They just consume us.
Critics have been somewhat divided on the film’s pacing, and honestly, it’s not for everyone. It’s slow. It’s weird. It features a lot of wet, squelching noises. But if you look at the current state of social media—where people film their breakups for views or stage "acts of kindness" for likes—the movie feels less like fiction and more like a mirror.
✨ Don't miss: Anjelica Huston in The Addams Family: What You Didn't Know About Morticia
The Problem with "Authenticity"
In the story, Adam refuses to compromise his art. He paints. Real, physical paintings. The Vuvv hate them. They want digital, reproducible, performative junk.
This mirrors the real-world tension between human creativity and AI-generated content. We are currently living through a moment where the "invisible hand" is pushing us toward homogenized, algorithm-friendly output. Adam’s struggle to keep his art "real" in a world that only pays for "fake" is the heart of the movie.
He eventually gets an opportunity to paint for the Vuvv, but they want him to paint what they think human life looks like—not what it actually is. They want the "landscape" to be pretty, not honest.
What We Can Learn from the Vuvv Invasion
If you're watching Landscape with an Invisible Hand, don't look for a triumphant ending where the humans rise up and blow up the mothership. That’s not what this is. This is a survival story.
It asks a very specific question: What parts of yourself are you willing to sell to keep a roof over your head?
We see Beth (Haddish) make massive sacrifices. We see Chloe become cynical and manipulative. We see Adam struggle to maintain any sense of self. The film suggests that the "invisible hand" doesn't just regulate the price of bread; it regulates the price of your dignity.
A Few Things the Movie Gets Right About the Future:
- Automation doesn't mean freedom: In the movie, the Vuvv tech does all the work, but humans don't get a vacation. They just get poorer.
- The commodification of intimacy: If it can be recorded, it can be sold.
- Bureaucracy as a weapon: The Vuvv don't use guns; they use contracts and lawsuits.
- Cultural imperialism: The Vuvv think they are "helping" by bringing their tech, while simultaneously destroying human culture.
The movie is a visual treat, too. The contrast between the dusty, decaying suburban neighborhood and the sleek, glowing Vuvv architecture is striking. It feels like a Third World country being "gentrified" by an intergalactic tech company.
Is it Worth a Watch?
If you want Star Wars, stay away.
If you want something that makes you think about why you just posted that photo on Instagram, watch it. It’s a movie for the burnt-out. For the people who feel like they’re shouting into a void and waiting for an algorithm to tell them they’re valid.
🔗 Read more: Isaiah Washington Movies and Shows: Why the Star Still Matters
It’s weirdly prophetic.
The film didn't explode at the box office, which is almost poetic given its themes. It’s a quiet, strange, and deeply human story about how hard it is to stay human when the world (or a bunch of coffee-table aliens) wants you to be a product.
How to Navigate Our Own "Invisible Hand"
While we don't have Vuvv hovering over our cities yet, the pressures Adam and Chloe face are very real. Here is how to keep your soul intact when the "market" wants to buy it:
Protect your "off-camera" life. In the movie, Adam and Chloe’s relationship fails because it becomes a public performance. In real life, keeping your most precious moments private isn't just a choice; it's an act of rebellion. If the "invisible hand" can't see it, it can't monetize it.
Value the "useless" arts. The Vuvv only wanted art that served a purpose—specifically, art that entertained them. Doing something purely for the sake of doing it (painting, writing, gardening) without the intention of "sharing" or "monetizing" it is how you maintain your humanity.
Recognize the "disruption" for what it is. New technology is often framed as a gift. The Vuvv framed their arrival as an era of prosperity. Always ask: "Who does this actually serve?" If the answer is "the people at the top of the floating city," then it’s not progress; it’s just a new form of management.
Find your "Beth." Tiffany Haddish’s character represents the extreme pragmatic side of survival. Sometimes you have to play the game to survive, but the key is knowing that you are playing it. Don't mistake the performance for your actual identity.
Ultimately, Landscape with an Invisible Hand is a warning. It’s a reminder that our value isn't tied to our "Node" subscribers or our ability to fit into a pre-packaged version of what society (or an alien race) expects.
Stop performing. Start living. Even if the Vuvv are watching.