Photo courtesy of alleksana via Pexels
“The Invite” is a new film, starring Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and many others.
Staff Writer
Kannille Washington ’28
In the summer of 2026, Olivia Wilde’s "The Invite" hit screens. Starring Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, the screenplay was written by duo Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. Directed by Olivia Wilde, the story is based on the play and eventual Spanish film “Sentimental, both written by Cesc Gay.” Wilde’s film centers on a dinner party between two couples and follows their interactions throughout the night. While one couple, Joe and Angela — Rogen and Wilde — struggle to keep their relationship afloat, their neighbors, Pina and Hawk — Cruz and Norton — seem to be the complete opposite.
The film begins with Joe and Angela as they laugh over a piano, and fades into a singular and solemn shot of Joe dissociating during his students' music practice. He lumbers out of the auditorium and as he begins to bike up the San Francisco roads, “I’m Confessin’” by Fabienne DelSol plays. At the apartment, we see the first interaction between Joe and Angela as they fly through arguments and the camera jumps around the intimate corners of their home, following their every move. Despite Angela asking “Can we please do a reset?”, their conversation quickly shifts back into an argument. The tension is cut, only momentarily, by the arrival of their upstairs neighbors, Pina and Hawk. Angela swears she and Joe discussed inviting the couple over, despite his insistence not to have them in their home. As the night goes on, the distinct differences between the two couples only escalates the conflict between Joe and Angela and forces them to question what a relationship should look like.
Though the actors present dynamic performances in their own right, the score — composed by Devonté Hynes — really solidifies the restriction of singular apartment where the film is set. The music converses with the characters. As we hear their voices heighten or their words linger in the following silence, the music follows. The apartment itself perfectly encapsulates the uncomfortable dynamic Angela and Joe have been steeping in throughout their relationship; discarded music projects and art pieces created years ago haunt the decaying corpse of the couple's creativity.
Pina asks the couple in the final act, “Do you even remember a time when you were not miserable?” Simultaneously, the movie asks the audience: when is a relationship finally over?
Since Wilde’s 2022 film, “Don't Worry Darling”started its press tour, there have been a lot of eyes on not only her, but also her public divorce with actor and comedian Jason Sudeikas. “Don’t Worry Darling” did not receive the best of reviews, with many criticising Olivia Wilde’s casting decisions, and her use of a plot some argue is reused and tired.
"The Invite,” in comparison, has received a warmer reaction from audiences. It seems Wilde may have been able to channel a sad reality into a beautiful work of art. Relationships end, but that does not mean we must end with them.
Whitney White ’28 contributed fact-checking.
