‘The Invite’ review: Olivia Wilde directs a ferocious, funny dinner-party drama

Olivia Wilde’s The Invite takes one apartment, one dinner, and four actors, and turns it into a razor-sharp study of marriage.

Wilde stars with Seth Rogen as Angela and Joe, a couple whose relationship has stalled. When they host upstairs neighbors Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pína (Penélope Cruz), the evening spirals into confessions, arguments, and unexpected honesty.

Shot almost entirely in one apartment in San Francisco, the film uses mirrors and windows to play with reflection and perspective. The 107-minute runtime moves fast thanks to smart, funny writing that cuts to the heart of relationships.

The ensemble delivers. Wilde is tense and brittle. Cruz is warm and magnetic. Norton steals scenes with a monologue about his name. Rogen grounds it as a disappointed musician living in his parents’ home.

A remake of Cesc Gay’s Spanish film The People Upstairs, The Invite has already spawned versions in 4 other languages. With music from Sade to CSNY and a dedication to Diane Keaton, it’s being praised as a gentler cousin to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.