One Night with an Apocalypse of Feelings

The Invite marks Olivia Wilde’s third directorial debut and, artistically, her most focused film to date. The Invite features a couple, Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde), whose marriage is at a crossroads. Taking place in their newly renovated apartment, the couple welcomes their upstairs neighbors, Piña (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), into their space, hoping to have a nice dinner. As they hope for a civil dinner, the simmering tension builds between both couples, creating a wild night for both.

A Peek Through the Window

Joe is a music teacher, and Angela is a housewife, and they are always fighting about something. The tension between the two is easy to read, but it is worth watching for the film’s wit, which isn’t cringy. Joe and Angela have recently renovated their home and decide to host their neighbors, Piña, a psychotherapist/sexologist, and Hawk, a retired firefighter. Both couples are diametrically opposite of one another; Joe and Angela are tense and contradictory, while Piña and Hawk are intrusive and observant. The differences between the couples are layered, but individually, something more mercurial is in the air, and that’s where the film hits home.

For everyone involved, the film taking place in one confined space adds to the tension and grievances that have yet to be explored, but the vague context clues signal some more than others, which makes it even more enthralling to speculate about what everyone knows. The moments when the couples disperse with the opposite partner help to set the scene for what the source of the tension is. These moments are freeing for all involved because they break down the wall that was put up. Everyone involved swallowed feelings that have loomed over their relationships, creating a cancerous environment for those in close proximity.

Group Therapy

Between starring in and directing The Invite, Olivia Wilde is at the top of her game here. From the screenplay by Rasheeda Jones and Will McCormack (adapted from The People Upstairs (Sentimental) directed by Cesc Gay), to the scope of the scenes, the acting and casting showcased that her craft is at an all-time high. As the film’s lead, Angela (Wilde) is a people-pleaser who wants to indulge in the finer things in life, knowing that her life is far from that. What she thinks is missing in her relationship is desire, and that desire is held back for myriad reasons she can’t fully comprehend. The need to be composed is her character’s greatest strength and weakness because it keeps the story ominous, but it also deprives the audience of what she really needs. Overall, Wilde’s portrayal of Angela is fleshed out extremely well and adds up narratively from an acting and directing perspective.

Seth Rogen’s turn as Wilde’s husband Joe is some of his wittiest work from an experience that he’s lived and wants to pay homage to. Everything around him that is negative is a reminder of all of his shortcomings. In the moments where his life is in motion, a piece of his character is missing, and he wears that on his sleeve so beautifully. Even in his moments of crass sarcasm, it is reassuring as the story continues to unfold and the things he has picked up on are a reality in their own way. Rogen’s emotional presence is melancholic in juxtaposition with how he comes off due to circumstances, but the necessary validation of his feelings is retrospective, offering an amazing three-dimensional turn in a role that fits him so well.

Edward Norton’s addition as Hawk is mysterious but warm. As he and his partner Piña enter the equation, he offers nothing but friendly conversation. His jovial nature is a soft spot, but it leads down a road of sadness meant to make one reflect and learn from. Hawk (Norton) brings a soft focus to the narrative through long, expansive, and touching monologues that only reveal things that open onto something even more interesting, which is intriguing in theory but off-putting given his lifestyle.

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Where Hawk (Norton) shines is when his undying sensitivity sets in. He is in tune with himself in a way that Joe isn’t, and the kind of realignment that Angela craves. Norton’s contribution to The Invite is one that serves as a healthy reminder that relationships are about acceptance and the element of surprise.

Piña (Penelope Cruz) is the film’s most intuitive character; from the moment she steps on screen, her presence is analytical. Piña serves as the film’s tantalizing force multiplier as a sexologist who gets conversations going. The way that she works with both Joe and Angela is a thing of beauty because she gaslights them into being honest about what’s troubling their marriage and makes inferences that play into what they are both experiencing based on this singular encounter. Her moments with Joe are vital to nurturing him and decreasing his insecurities. This helps heighten his emotional intelligence. By the end, she delivers a monologue that mediates the final verdict, as she is the most decorated among the others and sets the tone for conflict resolution. This gives the audience something to sit with while not looking too deeply into Joe and Angela’s fate.

Shifting Positions

The Invite is intimate and crisp, but the film’s most satisfying payoff is its score. Devonté Hynes’ score fits the scope with a mood-intensive structure. The moments of rancor, melancholy, and just inquisitive thoughts set in are where the score does its bidding as its own character. The score functions like a symphonic orchestra, working in lockstep with Rogen’s career in the film. The moments where revelation sets in elevate the score in a dramatic way that’s not only tense but exciting because you don’t know what is bound to come out of anyone’s mouth. Holding on to the thought throughout the film, in which you do not know what anyone may say, the score guides the audience, giving a clue as to how pertinent the reveal is and how it affects the ensemble in totality. Alongside the score, the lighting from beginning to end is personal. For a film that is a character study, it is only fitting that the lighting and camera work capture the stark contrasts among all the characters involved. Even more importantly, when the characters get candid about their experiences, the camera uses that moment to zoom in on them, giving the audience the chance to take in what everyone is saying when their time to shine arises. These moments make a difference because you can level with the characters as the film touches on all aspects of being open to new experiences that stray from the norm.

The overall atmosphere of the film is meant to be tense and to look more closely into the flaws of a relationship on the rocks, with many moving pieces in a tumultuous standstill. The film never shies away from the mundane aspects that Angela and Joe show on screen. The need to be polished and respectable instead of being honest and direct excites the film, giving it flair that is originally curated. This serves its audience with vast conjectures that reveal themselves.

The Final Play

The Invite is a thought-provoking, pressure-cooking, and highly invigorating original character study. The cutthroat dialogue pierces through the scream, and the comedic timing is always valued, even in moments of vulnerability meant to be taken seriously. The film speaks to those who are closed off and open-minded, meeting in the middle to unlock something new or to reconstruct a spark that has been lost with no hope, though there is longing for what once rang true. The acting from Rogen, Wilde, Cruz, and Norton is highly entertaining, giving something different that is worthy of the arcs that they lean into. The overall sentiment and strife that comes with the closed-off setting make for a ride that is worth the payoff in the end.

Watch The Invite in theaters now!