The Invite Movie Review: Penélope Cruz Steals Olivia Wilde’s Darkly Funny Dinner Party

I finally got around to watching The Invite, the latest film starring and directed by Olivia Wilde. Also starring Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, the film follows a married couple (Rogen and Wilde) who are struggling with their relationship. In an attempt to reconnect, they invite their neighbours (Cruz and Norton) over for a dinner party, only for the evening to spiral into some very unexpected places.

The film is a remake of the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs (Sentimental), directed by Cesc Gay and based on his play Los vecinos de arriba. Of Olivia Wilde's three films as a director, following Booksmart (2019) and Don't Worry Darling (2022), I think The Invite is her best work behind the camera so far.

The story is particularly interesting because we follow two couples whose marriages are on thin ice and who are willing to try almost anything to fix their relationships. With the majority of the film focusing on four characters in one location, The Invite does feel like a play at times. However, I think Wilde makes excellent use of the limited setting, allowing the characters and their conversations to drive the story.

The film also reminded me a lot of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), particularly because both films revolve around two couples interacting with one another. The major difference is that, in The Invite, the couples actually seem to get along — at least initially.

I think all four actors are fantastic in this film. Seth Rogen is still very much playing to his usual strengths, but his performance works extremely well with the film's dark comedic tone. He fits naturally into the setting and brings plenty of humour without taking away from the more dramatic moments.

Olivia Wilde also shines in her performance and has fantastic chemistry with Rogen. The two play off each other extremely well, making their relationship feel believable and convincing even as their marriage begins to fall apart.

Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz, however, give the strongest performances of the film. Norton continues to show why he is one of the strongest actors working today, bringing plenty of charisma and complexity to his role. Then there's Cruz, who completely steals the show whenever she's on screen. She gives what I think is the performance of the film, and if anyone from The Invite ends up receiving an Oscar nomination, I really hope it's Cruz.

The production values are also fantastic for what is essentially a bottle film. The cinematography captures each shot beautifully and gives the film a rich visual style, while the production design makes the couple's flat feel incredibly immersive. I also have to praise the score for establishing the right tone and the editing for keeping everything flowing naturally and making the film easy to follow.

This is the kind of film that could have easily become boring. With only four main characters spending most of the runtime in one location, it could have simply been four actors talking in a room and trying to make the most of what they had. Instead, The Invite manages to do something much more interesting, tackling its themes through its characters and their increasingly complicated relationships.

Even within the first five to ten minutes, I already knew I was in for a good time.

Overall, The Invite is one of the best films I've seen this year. Thanks to its fantastic performances, engaging screenplay and Olivia Wilde's confident direction, it takes a relatively simple premise and turns it into something genuinely entertaining and compelling.

I think this is the film that proves Olivia Wilde has the tools to become a genuinely strong director. After Booksmart and Don't Worry Darling, The Invite feels like another step forward, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

For me, The Invite gets a 10/10 and 5/5 stars.

What did you think?

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