Sundance film festival: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton are exceptional in a smart and funny winner about sex, marriage and partner-swapping
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ot enough people managed to see last year’s self-billed “unromantic comedy” Splitsville, a shame for how tremendously entertaining it was and for what it represents at this given moment. A rigorously well-directed, genuinely funny, relatably messy look at two couples dealing with the maelstrom of non-monogamy, it was the kind of smart, well-crafted film for adults we are constantly complaining we don’t get enough of.
I had a similar thrill watching The Invite at its sold-out Sundance premiere on Saturday night. Like that film, it is also about two adult couples negotiating anxieties surrounding sex with other people – and also like that film, it’s really, consistently funny and stylishly directed, made with the kind of care and rigidity that comedies just aren’t afforded now. It doesn’t have the same absurdist slapstick streak – it’s much more of this world – but it made me feel equally energised, a reminder that maybe that mid-sized movie gap is finally being filled. I just hope more people see this one.
More people probably will, given the star power: the two couples are played by Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde (married and miserable) and Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton (unmarried and happy). The film even starts with a leading Oscar Wilde quote – “One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.” – teasing a night that Edward Albee would approve of. The film is also directed by Wilde, her third film after fizzy teen comedy Booksmart and beautiful yet maddeningly stupid thriller Don’t Worry Darling. She is an actor who hasn’t always found her groove but has quickly become an impressively committed film-maker who collaborates with the finest craftspeople (even when the Don’t Worry Darling script made me want to roll my eyes, I was worried about missing something visually) – and The Invite marks a notably exciting new high for her.
