Ron’s Review

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I had no idea what The Invite was about when I watched it at the Cineplex Monday Surprise Premiere. I’d seen but one screenshot of the film, so when I saw the cast list, I was relieved that it was a film with people I recognised. Although, I feel like I haven’t seen any films recently with Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, or Edward Norton. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

In The Invite, Angela (Wilde) invites upstairs neighbours Pina (Cruz) and Hawk (Norton) to dinner. This is a surprise to Angela’s music teacher husband Joe (Rogen), who not only isn’t prepared to entertain, but also isn’t a fan of the noisy neighbours. But since the invite is out, the dinner is on. During the evening, the two couples reveal their differences and similarities and encounter unexpected revelations about what they really want from each other.

I have to say, I’m surprised by how much I liked The Invite. But more on that in a moment. The first Act does take quite a lot of time to warm up. The opening is slow and the brightly-lit screen and distorted faces aren’t the best introduction to the characters. Wilde and Rogen play Angela and Joe, a couple who do not get along anymore and are very loud about that. Their bickering felt overwrought in the first Act, and I didn’t like the intentional musical cues.

But the dynamic of The Invite changes entirely when Cruz and Norton’s Pina and Hawk arrive for the dinner invitation. They’re a soothing presence and a complete contrast to Angela and Joe’s neurotic, hostile energy. Having such calm souls to interact with immediately makes the conversations so much more captivating, and it felt like we were learning more because of what wasn’t being said between the two couples.

One also gets the sense that Pina and Hawk, as quiet and friendly and complimentary as they are, are also examining every single movement, action, and decision that Angela and Joe are making. Why are they studying their downstairs neighbours? Do they want something? Do they know something? Pina and Hawk seem so all-knowing, that anything seems possible. What their intentions are turn out to be completely unexpected, hilarious, but also, quite revelatory.

The Invite is partly about relationships, but it’s also about desire. And how much we would really all like to be desired by Penelope Cruz. However, the desire here isn’t just about lust and longing for another person or body, or even wanting Penelope Cruz to tell you you’re desirable. It’s about desiring one’s self, aka, having self-worth. It’s about desiring a life of meaning.

And that’s what I didn’t expect from The Invite, that it would be a film about Millennial/Gen X dissatisfaction with the terrible lot in life that we have been dealt. This isn’t A Marriage Story or Scenes from a Marriage – although it does feel similar for the large majority of the film. No, The Invite is about spending your adult life having to make the worst choices because you have no choice in life. Because you did everything you were told to do to have a great life, and the world decided to change in ways so that you could never achieve normality, forget greatness. And that makes you miserable. And you hate the person you’ve become, but you can’t help it. And you just want someone to commiserate with you about how miserable you are. But you also want someone to tell you that you are great, and that you are talented, and that you are allowed to be you, just you.

What a ride this film was. But that’s just the story. I loved the direction. I loved the framing choices Wilde made for this film. Even though it’s based on a film which was in turn based on a stage play, you never feel like you’re watching an adaptation of a play. The shots are an expert mix of focused and blurred, close-ups and long-shots – it feels so organic, like we, the audience, are the silent and observant fifth attendee at this cringey dinner party.

And the acting is so natural. The dialogue in the script sounds like normal people talking and the cast captures that beautifully. If they didn’t all look like actors, I’d have thought we were watching regular people. I loved Wilde’s eyes in this film – she’s incredibly expressive and says so much with her eyes. She also has enormous eyes but even then, she had to put some emotion to make those close-ups work.

I don’t usually like Rogen but he disappears into Joe here. I felt like I was watching a man who wants more from life but has no clue how to get it. And his comedic timing is excellent here – it’s really biting and uncomfortable, which works for the character.

I was worried Cruz would be nothing but a sexy foreigner but she’s actually a force of calm, and quite funny at times. Her analytical Pina asks some probing questions and made me think about how I interact with people, forget Angela and Joe.

Norton was mostly himself but damn, I didn’t know he could be funny. He’s so quiet, and he’s got that voice that seems to never change, but he still says so much with just a few inflections.

I love this cast. They all play off each other so well; they’re natural, funny, cringey, and biting. The shots are beautiful. The set is gorgeous yet understated. The story is layered. The Invite is for all of us who deserve more but are stuck.

Mon’s Review

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There was more talk about Olivia Wilde’s personal life surrounding the premiere of The Invite than there was talk of the actual film. So when I realized this was the film we were watching, I was a little concerned. I knew nothing about the film. In fact, I didn’t even realize the film’s title till after I returned home.

The first ten minutes didn’t help the situation. Olivia Wilde as Angela and Seth Rogen as Joe, cramped together in this overly-furnished compact apartment seemed a tad uncomfortable. Wilde made a few unusual expressions that I’ve never seen her make before. Rogen, seemed like Rogen. The audience were in uproar over the “comedy”, but I was dying of cringe, and annoyed with the characters.

However, once Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton entered the picture, the film, the story, and the cast, found their balance. And there was no looking back for this tour de force.

The Invite is about two couples—polar opposites in every way—brought together as neighbours meeting for dinner. It’s a disaster. A disaster of epic proportions. Angela is pretentious, putting on airs for the la-di-da neighbours. Joe has been bamboozled into accepting the guests. Cruz’s Pina is kindly and a little woo-woo, while her partner, Norton’s Hawk, is earnest and takes everything coming at him on the chin. The guests are exceptional. The hosts, nowhere close.

But somehow, this odd-couple of couples find ways to meet in the middle, to hear each other out, and surprisingly, form a sounding board not only for themselves, but for the audience as well.

Bar the rocky first ten minutes, I loved this film. No, I was floored by this film. I haven’t seen Don’t Worry Darling, but I (like half the planet) adore Booksmart. Wilde brings that intimate, lived-in feel to The Invite as well. She’s working with a really strong script, adapted by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones from Cesc Gay’s Spanish film and stageplay. I find it fascinating that this adaptation of a film that was an adaptation of a play is written and directed by actors. This probably happens all the time, but I’ve not clocked it before.

The characters feel so natural. Even when the topic gets wholly out-of-hand, the questions and reactions are so normal. The whole film felt like we were a fly on the wall, awkwardly hanging out at the world’s worst dinner party. It’s all possible because the performances are so authentic. The way Cruz and Norton slip into Spanish, we see it all the time in multi-lingual households. Wilde herself is so giddy, we can feel her excitement. Even though Rogen is very much himself, he’s marvellously restrained enough to feel like a tired working person trying to make the best of a terrible situation.

Wilde doesn’t just bring out the best in her actors, she’s got such a fantastic take on direction. I loved her framing throughout the film. She makes good use of that cramped apartment. You feel the space, but the stuffiness of it as well. I’m pretty sure her character positions and angles told a story unto themselves, but even on the surface-level, it’s just fun to see how she plays around with the setting.

The conversations in The Invite tell a different story than what’s being said. I loved that about the film. How many Hollywood productions are just boring tales of writers and film people and their insular concerns; characters whose lives and experiences are so far removed from the average ticket-buyer. It’s honestly refreshing to meet four people in a film who’re messy and finding their way. And they aren’t all 25! These are adults who have to contend with adulting, and it’s hard, and they haven’t figured it all out. We feel these characters, because we’re facing these similar conversations, insecurities, and turmoil.

The Invite is really funny, extremely cringy, and occasionally tense. Somehow, the creative team finds a way to juggle these extremes with aplomb, all while reflecting the plight of the millennial experience. The writing is clever without trying, the dialogue natural and delivered with easy authenticity by this stellar cast. The Invite will leave you re-examining how you’ve turned out and up for the relationships in your life. But most importantly, how you’ve turned up for yourself.