The Invite
The Invite
Starring Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton
Directed by Olivia Wilde
Joe (Seth Rogen) is a washed up musician teaching at a small school while his wife Angela (Olivia Wilde) stays at home and tends to their twelve-year-old daughter. They live in a luxurious apartment that belonged to Joe's parents and the two are clearly at odds - he comes home to find out she's planning a get-together with their upstairs neighbors, and Joe is aghast because he never knew it was happening, even though she told him - albeit only once. The two bicker and argue about every little thing, so much so when their neighbors Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) arrive, they sense the hostility. Unlike Joe and Angela, Pina and Hawk are free-spirited lovers who love to explore their sexual side with multiple partners that Joe and Angela can hear from below, and when they offer Joe and Angela to join them, it sets off a string of events that unleashes inner secrets that could break up both couples.
"The Invite" is based on a play written by Spanish playwright Cesc Gay that was made into a Spanish movie and now re-made into an American one with writers Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, and you can tell the international influence. If this was purely an American film, the dialogue would've been much more vulgar and cheap, but instead the dialogue is witty, sophisticated, smart, hilarious...and a bit vulgar, but not in a gross way. It doesn't set up two couples against each other with dueling ideologies, but rather both highlights and sheds light on each person's individual issues as well as their issues as couples themselves. It's sharp, precise, and expertly performed by the talented foursome.
The premise is a dull, loveless couple invite the wild, sexualized neighbors to talk about their escapades and how it's been affecting them, and spirals into an intense, passionate, and hilarious dialogue-driven film that looks at both ends of the spectrum without judgment and allows the viewers to decide which - if any - of the couples are in the right. Joe and Angela are parents who have gone through their personal trials - Joe feels like a failure, won't play his piano anymore, and deals in self-loathing while Angela wants the passion in their relationship back and is neurotic about making everything perfect. On the flip side, Pena is a sexologist who is open about her sexuality and how it brings her freedom, but she also hides from her age, while Hawk changed his name after a traumatic event in his past that he hasn't quite gotten over, but finds release and peace through his sexual exploration. Consider this movie "The Odd Couples."
The score from Devonte Hynes utilizes stringed instruments to create tension in the movie that keeps you compelled and on the edge of your seat, even as the conversation is more light-hearted and comedic, although it underlies the insecurities in each character. While gut-rollingly hilarious, there's always the sense that the lid will pop off and everything will come spewing out, and that's thanks in part to Hynes' score. Equally, cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra shoots the film in its confined, claustrophobic space where secrets can't be kept for long, and also utilizes mirrors to reflect characters in unique ways. It's visually beautiful and hauntingly strong in its score, which lets your guard down as the comedy flows until the melancholy hits you like a ton of bricks.
As mentioned earlier, this would've failed if the actors weren't up to the material given to them. Fortunately, that's not the case. Seth Rogen has grown leaps and bounds as an actor once known for his raunchy comedies like "Knocked Up" and "Pineapple Express" and has honed his talent into blending comedy and drama like in his work in "The Studio" and "The Fabelmans," and gives a hilarious performance underlined by his insecurities. Olivia Wilde has now given two terrific films (this and "Booksmart") and also plays Angela with this sorrowful feel as if she feels she's never good enough for anything, and rarely stands up for herself. Edward Norton's Hawk is, for the most part, a free-spirited soul, but he gives two of the most soul-crushing monologues in the movie that points to his hidden worries. Penelope Cruz, however, is the main standout as Pena, a sexually charged woman who also has the intelligence needed to see things beyond what people are saying, and delivers an awards-worthy performance.
Although it's probably more appropriate for a fall release, "The Invite" hits harder than most summer action blockbusters with four career-best performances about the inner insecurities of couples and how by hiding them could end in heartbreak, or reveal them to mend.
The Score: A+
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