The Invite, the new film from Olivia Wilde, is now available to watch in the UK. Boasting a stacked cast including Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz, the comedy has been acclaimed by critics.
The chamber piece is based on the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs, and is actually the fifth remake following previous productions in France, Italy, Switzerland and South Korea.
Wilde, who directs from a screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, plays Angela, who is in an unhappy marriage with Joe (Rogen). They invite their neighbours, Hawk (Norton) and Pína (Cruz), for dinner, but the night goes in an unexpected direction.
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After having its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, The Invite is now playing in cinemas across the UK, and provides more adult-oriented fare during blockbuster season.
Furthermore, it has been lauded by critics, with Rotten Tomatoes currently reporting a near-perfect approval rating of 95% from 130 reviews. The audience score is also at the same mark, so it looks to be popular all-round!
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"This rich, funny and keenly observed comedy is one of the year's best films," noted RadioTimes, while The Observer wrote: "What the film loses in breadth of storytelling it more than makes up for in ruthless focus."
"The filmmakers and fully committed cast never shy from how bad things have gotten between Joe and Angela, but they find the sweet spot in so much sourness," said The Austin Chronicle.
The Boston Globe was also full of praise, writing: "Wilde directs the cast well and keeps the pace as quick as the screenplay's wit. Though everyone is very good, Rogen stands out as a man whose defence mechanism is caustic sarcasm."
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The Times also lauded Wilde's direction following her previous works Booksmart and Don't Worry Darling, writing in a five-star review: "The performances are impeccable, the characters impossibly well balanced. Wilde the filmmaker is unimpeachable here."
Elsewhere on the big screen, there are big-budget animations in the shape of Toy Story 5 and Minions & Monsters, while James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe continues with Supergirl.
The Invite is in cinemas now.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
