Director: Olivia Wilde
Writers: Cesc Gay, Will McCormack, Rashida Jones
Stars: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz
Synopsis: Joe and Angela’s marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places.
When it comes to The Invite – the latest feature from actor turned director Olivia Wilde (I Want Your Sex), one can describe it as the equivalent of the ball dropping, but in a good way. In which, you are waiting for an ultimatum to be revealed. Let me explain. Based on the film Sentimental and written by Rashida Jones and her writing partner Will McCormick, The Invite follows Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Wilde), a San Francisco couple whose marriage seems to be on the brink of exploding. To make matters worse, when Joe comes home from work that evening, he discovers that Angela has invited the neighbors, Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), over for dinner. Needless to say, chaos ensues as we learn more about Pina and Hawk and why they are really here.
Marking her return to directing after five years following her sophomore feature Don’t Worry Darling, Wilde directs the film akin to a chamber piece or play, featuring limited sets and characters. As a result, Wilde takes Jones and McCormick’s witty, hilarious, and dialogue-heavy script and utilizes it in a way where it is maximized to its potential. She and director of photography Adam Newport-Berra (Good Fortune) keeps the camera mostly still and mounted, while also not being afraid to move it around when the film calls for it This allows for Newport-Berra’s cinematography to match well with Jade Healy’s production design, making the sets feel claustrophobic as we become enveloped in the apartment. Additionally, costume designer Arianne Phillips manages to be in sync with Healy’s production design as the colors of everyone’s costume and wardrobe coincides with the set. This helps create a connection with the environment around them.
By having this pattern, Phillips’ costumes also allows the actors to be expressive with their movement and body language. This continues into the score by composer Devonte Hynes (Roommates), where Hynes employs a violin string to highlight tension in a scene. Hynes’ score also permeates the themes of the film, echoing the emotions of the main characters going forward. Finally, editors Anthony Boys and Yorgos Mavropsaridis (Poor Things) whittle the film down a tight 107 minutes. By bringing the film down to that length, the two manage to expose the intensity while also bringing out the humor.
As for the performances, the cast – from top to bottom deliver some incredible work. Starting off with Seth Rogen’s Joe, who is played as an everyman. Albeit a depressed everyman, who like the audience, feels that something is off. There’s a line that Rogen delivers that characterizes his whole performance – “Why do I feel like everyone knows something except for me?” This results in his chemistry with Olivia Wilde to be one of doubt, entendre, and piercing looks.
Speaking of Wilde actually, her and Rogen’s chemistry feels not only bitingly real, but also layered. Especially in contrast to two other performances: Instead of anxiousness, Norton and Cruz, who play Pina and Hawk, deliver their performances with an eerie calm. Instead of piercing looks, there is loving tenderness. We see this in full force with Cruz balancing restraint with a sense of chill. Meanwhile, Norton plays Hawk with an almost surfer-boy/golden retriever-like quality, making you wonder: “Are there any thoughts in that brain of his?”
The Invite is a hilarious chamber piece of a film. Thanks to a witty script from Jones and McCormick, Wilde and company combine comedy and tension in outstanding ways, especially by placing both elements in the forefront. This allows the score, cinematography, and editing to take part in the proceedings. Equally, the performances from Rogen, Wilde, Cruz, and Norton serve in contrast to each other allowing the audience and the characters to bask in the ridiculousness of everything. As one of the best comedies of the year, The Invite is the perfect film to laugh, all the while also feel the heat.
