Joe and Angela are on thin ice, and tonight might be when it all falls apart. Unfortunately, their upstairs neighbors are about to arrive for dinner — and everything that can go wrong goes worse.
A fiercely energized chamber dramedy, THE INVITE revitalizes the classic, largely bygone cinema of marital strife. Olivia Wilde’s scenes from a marriage are suitably raw and revealing, but also compassionate, deeply human, and incredibly funny. From a screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film gleefully plunges two couples (Wilde and Seth Rogen; Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton) into the crucible of a seemingly innocuous evening, delighting in its contortions as awkward small talk turns to the unearthing of long-tenured grievances, insecurities, codependencies, failed aspirations and sexual FOMO. Constructing a vibrant aesthetic and brilliantly orchestrated interactions, Wilde finds a universe of space within one location, and her process — workshopping material with the cast, shooting chronologically (on 35mm!), and inviting them to explore as they worked — gives THE INVITE a remarkable authenticity. (Synopsis from the Sundance Film Festival Program Guide)
“So original, so brimming with surprise, so fresh and up-to-the-minute in its perceptions of how relationships work (or don’t), that you watch it in a state of rapt immersion and delight…. THE INVITE is marvelously entertaining, but part of the reason for that is that I think a lot of people are going to see themselves mirrored in this movie, which for all its sharp-tongued bravura is humane enough to play a truth game that rings true.” —Owen Gleiberman, Variety “[Director Olivia Wilde] knows exactly what she’s doing, how to calibrate between big laughs and broken hearts, how to use her cast to great effect, and how to surprise her audience at nearly every turn…. Such a treat, a truly adult comedy with plenty to say and even more laughs to share. Accept this invite, and fast.” —Kate Erbland, IndieWire “Small in scale, yet so much greater than the sum of its parts, Wilde conducts her quartet of players to an orchestral performance…. Employing just four principal actors, including herself, and a single apartment, it’s an impressive feat to pull off and a testament to her progression as actor-turned-director…. On the aesthetic level of its elegantly comedic predecessors from the likes of Nora Ephron and Mike Nichols.” —Kent M. Wilhelm, Film Stage
