‘The Invite’ movie review: A savagely funny excavation of modern love
This review examines 'The Invite,' a film directed by Olivia Wilde that explores the complexities of a strained marriage during a dinner party with neighbors. The critic praises the film's sharp writing, ensemble performances, and its ability to turn a single apartment setting into a stage for intense emotional drama.
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Film reviews provide cultural context and critical analysis of media, influencing audience consumption and artistic discourse.
How much do I love this movie? Let me count the ways. Is it the ferocious acting by the ensemble cast? The smart writing that is funny and razor sharp, slicing into the heart of relationships? The way the apartment, where almost all the action takes place, seems both large and small? Or the use of mirrors and windows to suggest reflection and looking in from the outside?
It was all this and more, keeping me furiously engaged throughout Olivia Wilde’s 107-minute The Invite. A remake of Cesc Gay’s 2020 Spanish film, The People Upstairs , itself an adaptation of his stage play, The Invite tells the story of a couple, Angela (Olivia Wilde) and Joe (Seth Rogen), whose marriage has reached breaking point thanks to forsaken dreams and disappointments.
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