Olivia Wilde levels the fuck up with her third feature, a Mike Nichols riff with a micro cast, one location, and a collaborative approach to storytelling. It started with a Spanish stage play by Cesc Gay, who adapted his work into a film called Sentimentál. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack reworked that film into the first draft of The Invite and pitched it to Wilde. She was excited to direct, but never considered acting in the film until the rest of the cast talked her into it. And thank God they did. At the 2026 Seattle International Film Festival screening, Wilde described a true collaborative workshop where they spent two weeks developing their characters beyond the script, before they even picked up a camera. Then they shot the film in sequence so they could organically shape the story and evolve their characters as they went. This methodology could not possibly work for every film. But it sure as hell works here. The result is a unique, stylish, riveting, truthful film that is easily Wilde’s best work to date.
Amidst late-stage marriage troubles, Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Wilde) host a dinner party as a means to broach an uncomfortable conversation with their sexy and mysterious upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pena (Penelope Cruz). Joe hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in some time because of the passionate noises emanating from Hawk and Pena’s place during the wee hours. He enters the evening filled with resentment over his sleep interruption, as well as his decision to lie to his child about the nature of the sounds. Angela feels they don’t have a leg to stand on because she’s been raucously renovating their vintage San Francisco apartment for months. She also harbors a deeper fascination with this couple, who seem to enjoy a sexy, conflict-free life. Joe only sees them as a reminder of what his marriage lacks. With Joe and Angela’s child gone for the night, the quartet are free to follow the vibe of the evening. But as the wine flows, the untouched charcuterie sweats, and the spliffs spark, the conversation becomes increasingly tense and revealing.
We can confidently add Olivia Wilde to the short list of directors who can make an enthralling film out of four people interacting in one apartment. It doesn’t hurt to get four very charismatic actors for the job. But this professional quartet fully embraced the “play” aspect of acting. While the story beats from the original script mostly remain intact, the dialogue was largely improvised by the actors themselves, as they worked together to fully embody and understand their onscreen counterparts. It’s safe to say they also brought a lot of personal pathos into the proceedings. It’s astounding that it works at all, let alone like gangbusters…
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