Directed By Olivia Wilde

Starring – Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penelope Cruz

The Plot – Joe (Rogen) and Angela’s (Wilde) marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors (Cruz, Edward Norton) for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places.

Rated R for sexual material, adult language throughout, and drug use

The Invite | Official Trailer HD | A24

POSITIVES

Between a dynamic directorial debut in 2019’s Booksmart, and a sophomore slump in 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling, uncertainty undeniably lingered about Olivia Wilde’s ability to effectively capture and maintain the attention of an adoring audience, but the actress-turned-director silences all premature doubts with The Invite being easily her strongest and most compelling feature of her career, thus far, bringing nerve-shattering accessibility and unabashed honesty into the pratfalls of a plunging marriage, the likes of which grow all the more entertainingly endearing with each passing minute. Wilde’s growingly experienced direction not only fleshes out this growing discomfort atmospherically that constantly builds on the palpable tension mustered masterfully between two conflictual people who have clearly been together too long, but also revels in the creatively commanding allowance of some meaningfully layered components of elevating production, which help appraise extensive depths in a single stage setting whose claustrophobic confines leave the clashing of confrontation feeling unavoidably inevitable. The cinematography from Adam Newport-Berra certainly studies and surveys the persistence of these passive aggressive conversations with intuitive camera placements and varying proximities, keeping the presentation from ever feeling stagnantly redundant or detectably predictable in the grip of its executed consistency, while the occasionally isolated framing of individualized characters feels like a wet blanket of underlining emphasis used to draw out the humility and honesty of their candidly captured responses, particularly those stemming from Joe and Angela once the obvious-but-elaborate intentions of their nestling neighbors becomes painstakingly apparent in dissecting their once unthreatened life of conventional conformity. Wilde’s guiding hand as a storyteller is definitely detailed enough to conjure a lived-in brand of internalized conflict between these characters that feels every bit weaponized in its exploitation as it does authentic in the air of the naturally registering responses, but to have assistance in these advantageous elements churning out atmospheric enticement that revels in just enough underlining mystery in motive to balance the ice-breaking awkwardness of newly cemented friendships, helps audiences maintain effortless indulgence in the simplicity of a gimmick that could’ve easily overstayed its welcome with such unavoidable repetition, instead utilizing just the right allowance of comedic shaping on the material, without even remotely threatening the scope and stakes of its dramatic thunder. This is arguably Wilde’s most challenging aspect of the film, as either the inconsistency of the humor, or the occasionally detestable antics of the characters, could’ve easily threatened what’s so refreshingly progressive about the dissection of its many talking points, however screenwriters Will McCormack and Rashida Jones never lack confidence with either the temperament of their audience, or the vulnerability of their characters, where nothing that they conjure situationally feels remotely staged or embellished to feel cinematic, instead resting on the laurels of a fish-out-of-water perspective with its sexualized subject matter serving as the proverbial key to unlock much of Joe and Angela’s tumultuous traumas and even eager inhibitions. It definitely helps having a gifted ensemble bringing the material to life with their meticulous energies paid towards deliveries, but McCormack and Jones’ razor sharp precision in pushing a gag long enough to enhance the endearment of the audience, without deliberately overstepping into the next talking point, allows the film’s comedic material to effectively register laughs on roughly 80% of the material, and considering the film’s second half evolution drifts further into aforementioned dramatic territory than initially expected, it never feels like the humor is used as a crutch of convenience during more unpleasant moments alongside our protagonists, setting the stage for a third act climax that urgently teaches as much as it intently entertains. Even despite the hefty thematic impulses of the script profoundly pertaining to everything from marital stagnation, to romantic communication, to even alternative lifestyles, the conversations themselves maintain intrigue as a result of the rhythmically interactive responses that increase energetically alongside Devonte Hynes’ cello-driven orchestral score to craft increasing anxiety to the interpretation, where every instrument feels like an introspective channeling strummed from person involved during that particular delivery. While the overzealous sound mixing of the compositions can occasionally overstep the integrity of the performances, more times than not the tones help to preheat atmospheric anxiousness long before the performances can pay them off prominently, and with Hynes injecting his influence with a far more classically trained elegance of instrumentals than we’re used to experiencing within this subject matter, it crafts a disfiguring sense of reality that makes Joe and Angela feel so overwhelmed and dominated in the sanctity of their own home, in turn allowing the stinging sharpness of each word to penetrate their opposition with unflinching detectability. Lastly, I would be doing a huge disservice if I didn’t talk about the performances, as each member of this core four shines at distinct moments throughout the film, making a selected standout among them feel all the more impossible with each of them bringing their absolute best to the lasting integrity of these characters. If I absolutely had to pick one, I would say that Wilde’s lack of a poker face in her fascinatingly enamored facial registries are the secret ingredient constantly stirring much of the movie’s sizzling flavor, complimented equally by a comfortable balance of anxiousness and adventurism that evokes the physical embodiment of a panic attack on shuffle, in turn supplanting Wilde’s single best performance in an already storied career of certified bangers. Secondary but certainly not inferior to Wilde is the terrific trio of Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton, who each back Wilde’s on and off screen work with the kind of intricate nuance and complimentary psychology that makes 104 minutes alongside these characters transpire with effortless ease. For Rogen, that obviously means being the comedic heavyweight that the film requires of him, with his bluntly dry observational deliveries serving as the withering wall of divide that keep Joe and Angela from exploring their passions, but even when Rogen is asked to delve in dramatic waters, he proves his depth with the kind of regretful remorse that makes Joe feel like a shell of who he once was, and someone we can strangely sympathize with, even despite the brutally honest judgments that spew relentlessly out of his mouth. As for Cruz and Norton, they each inject a glowingly radiant brand of chemistry and charisma to Pina and Hawk that captivates seductively whenever they’re at the forefront of the movie’s focus, with the best moments between them being shared during the unflinching honesty that they wield in unloading some eye-opening truths about their brief-but-meaningful time together, with never quite enough time to satisfy by urges in wanting to learn more about them.

NEGATIVES

While The Invite is definitely the comedy to beat, this year, it isn’t without faults in the air of its nearly perfect execution, particularly in some periodic hiccups with McCormack and Jones’ script that are frivolously overlooked in their importance to an extensive picture that takes us far beyond the claustrophobic confines of this stuffy apartment. One such instance pertains to an unforeseen development between Pina and Hawk, during the third act, that not only feels abruptly manifested without a meaningfully deep-rooted reason to conjure its reality, but also unfulfilling in how minimally important that it feels on the narrative, wasting away possibly the only logical reasoning why this film could push the two hour mark while still maintaining endearment. It’s certainly easy to understand that this isn’t their story, however I feel like the film’s messaging in conjuring such a glaring insecurity between them should’ve led to something far more substantial from which it came, instead serving as a temporary speed bump in an objective opportunity to deviate even temporarily away from Joe and Angela’s laundry list of marital problems. Beyond this unfulfilling arc, my only other problem with the film centers around the ending itself, which regretfully initiates an air of hope at the last second, in order to send audiences home with some optimistic semblance. While I understand the nobility of the intention, I express that the movie’s original resolution, despite my ability to predict it as immediately as the twenty minute mark of the film, is one not only responsibly accurate of the realities of couples who overlook the importance of foundational communication between them, but also one that gauged the film’s impact and its lasting power on my senses the loudest of anywhere in the film, and with the film instead measuring meaning in the metaphorical, it reaches for an element of hope that doesn’t feel earned or resonating upon the characters who summoned it, and it’s one that I have a feeling will divide audiences in the way that I elaborated to, or even another.

OVERALL
The Invite is a perversely hilarious and uncomfortably anxious date night dramedy that not only represents a rejuvenated return to form for Olivia Wilde in the director’s chair, but also an intelligently constructed and thematically layered push for communication among contemporary couplings. Led by an astonishingly adventurous ensemble lending their undivided devotion to Wilde’s playfully profound approach, as well as a script of limitless laughs and stunning surprises, the film is one invitation worth accepting with our plus ones in tow, evoking a domestic disaster made delightful by the relief that it isn’t happening to us

My Grade: 8.7 or A-