When actress Olivia Wilde became director Olivia Wilde in 2019, she had her doubters. Those doubters were quickly silenced when her first feature, Booksmart, ended up being one of the funniest movies of the year. She followed it up with Don’t Worry Darling, which showed her ability to do unsettling drama. And now, she continues to build her directorial resume with The Invite.
The Invite is about a couple named Angela and Joe (Wilde and The Studio’s Seth Rogen) who seem to be stuck in a tense and troubled marriage. One day, unbeknownst to Joe, Angela invites their upstairs neighbors, Piña and Hawk (Penélope Cruz from Parallel Mothers and Edward Norton from Fight Club), over for an evening of wine, food, and conversation. Once the wine (and other substances) start flowing, Angela and Joe learn more about Piña and Hawk than they expected they would…and more than they probably wanted to know.
The screenplay for The Invite was based on the movie The People Upstairs by Spanish filmmaker/playwright Cesc Gay, which was itself adapted from Gay’s play of the same name. Co-writers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack (who also wrote Toy Story 4 and Celeste & Jesse Forever) make their version stand out by injecting very natural, almost effortless dialogue into the uncomfortable scenario. The resulting film is both relaxed and tense, serious and funny. The audience is a fly on the wall, and what’s happening onscreen is something that they shouldn’t be seeing. And it feels like a car wreck. There’s emotional carnage unfolding, but the viewer doesn’t dare look away out of fear that they might miss something good.
The Invite plays out almost like a stage production, but for a movie that is set completely within the confines of a single apartment, the technical aspects are surprisingly inventive. The photography is impeccable, with cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra (Euphoria) using both set pieces like mirrors and camera tricks like rack focus to both open up and tighten down the location. British musician Devonté Hynes (Queen & Slim), aka Lightspeed Champion/Blood Orange, contributes a minimalistic, melodic score that fits in perfectly with the economic narrative. And editors Anthony Boys (Veep) and Yorgos Mavropsaridis (who has edited all of Yorgos Lanthimos’ movies) shape the on-screen chaos into a coherent and compelling story.
But what really makes The Invite exciting is the acting. There are basically only four characters, but each individual actor brings their A-game, making those different characters pop and crack. There are two dynamics at work – Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen are the unhappy, at-each-other’s-throats couple, while Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton are the lovey-dovey, eternally-blissfully-in-love couple. Not only does each actor nail that dynamic, but each also is able to help that dynamic shift as the movie goes on. There’s an improvisational chemistry to the ensemble. This doesn’t feel like four actors playing characters, this feels like four characters.
And this leads to The Invite taking the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotions. It’s heartbreaking in that it’s a portrait of a troubled and unhappy marriage. It’s uplifting in that it also features a free-spirited and openly honest couple. It’s funny, not in a rolling-on-the-floor-laughing kind of way, but in an “I see myself in this character” kind of way. At times, it’s full of sarcastic wit and sexual tension, but mostly, it’s just a very genuine movie. It’s very comfortable with its uncomfortable situations.
The Invite is as different from Booksmart as it is from Don’t Worry Darling. This just goes to show that Olivia Wilde is the real deal as both an actress and a director. Olivia Wilde is this generation’s Ida Lupino.
GRADE: A
Rating: R for sexual material, language throughout, and drug use
Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
Release Date: June 26, 2026 (limited)
