“The Invitation” – Olivia Wilde made a movie about a husband and wife who are seriously fed up with each other. Then there are neighbors having loud sex! Starring: Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton and Wilde herself

Imagine a very explicit film about sex, in which there is not a single erotic scene or hint of nudity, and the idea of ​​Olivia Wilde’s The Invitation immediately comes to mind. This is how the director excites his viewer. The choice of means (dialogue instead of action) is not only contradictory, but also logical. After all, as this “adult picture” reminds us – in all different senses of the word – sex is inextricably linked to fantasy. Not everything we secretly dream about must be experienced in reality.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The concept, idea and plot are not the property of Wilde. “The Invitation” is a remake (and already straight) of Cesc Guy’s hugely successful Spanish comedy “Sentimental,” also known as “Neighbors Upstairs,” based on his own stage play and released in 2020. Naturally, the American version is doomed to become the most popular of all time, if only because of the participation of the stars.

Wilde is joined here by Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penelope Cruz. Oddly enough, the most famous Spanish actress in the world played her not in the original Spanish version, but in its Hollywood version. On the other hand, it is she who brings to the picture the flavor of slightly exaggerated sensuality, which is especially noticeable in comparison with the nervous distress of the San Francisco natives.

So, Joe (Rogen) has been married to Angela (Wilde) for a long time. Once a rock musician, she had vague bohemian dreams. Now he teaches high school music, hates his job, and is busy at home – finishing renovations on the apartment her husband inherited. They’ve been pissing each other off for years, but their upstairs neighbors are pissing them off even more. At night, they have sex so violently that their screams do not allow our heroes to sleep. Angela is jealous of her neighbor’s orgasms, while Joe feels humiliated. One day a couple from above comes to visit. The official reason is to look at the completed renovation: Angela and Joe supposedly want to apologize for the inconvenience and noise. Although in reality they believe that they are not the ones who should apologize.

The bell rings, the door opens, and Hawke (Norton) and Pena (Cruz) enter. The feeling of embarrassment could not be dispelled even by a glass of disproportionately expensive wine, forcibly opened on the occasion of the visit: Joe had forgotten to stop at the store for a simpler bottle. The problem is not that guests feel restricted. On the contrary, their relaxed and friendly behavior makes Angela and Joe more nervous and angry with each other. An emotional climax inevitably looms, and it’s hard to avoid frank discussion of loud orgasms. The explanation turns out to be corny: Hawke and Pena are having group sex. It’s not just these two who are making screams that can be heard throughout the house…

The phrase written on the film reads: “You should always be in love. That’s why no one should ever get married.” The aphorism belongs to Oscar Wilde, from whom the director borrowed his last name for his pseudonym. The joke itself, especially in the context of “The Invitation,” feels somewhat belated. It turns out that Joe and Angela are languishing in their legal marriage and thus their fire has been extinguished, while Hawk and Bina have been dating for only a year, their profession is more exotic (he is a former firefighter, she is a sex therapist), and this is what allows them not to lose interest in each other in bed. logical.

“The Call” does not strive for originality. This is nothing more and nothing less than an excellent conversational comedy about a forever relevant topic. Wilde’s previous directorial work, Don’t Worry, Darling, a bold and bizarre feminist fantasy, was underappreciated by audiences and thoroughly panned by critics. So here she chose a different strategy: simplicity and restraint.

The chosen style – not only the verbiage, but also the skillful framing (the window frames, the furniture, the layout of the apartment, and simply the structure of the frame either separates or unites the four characters) – is reminiscent of Woody Allen films. It is no coincidence that the epilogue includes a dedication to Diane’s memory: it is about Allen’s muse, Diane Keaton. And in the film’s last ten minutes, which are no longer humorous, you can feel the spirit of Allen’s idol, the great Ingmar Bergman, through Scenes from a Marriage.

It turns out that the topic is more than a conversation. Against the backdrop of the collapse of entire civilizations and the global crisis of democracy, Western society is taking a closer look at so-called family values: Are they really that valuable – and to whom? “The Call” is the third film this year about the institution of the family in America today, and all three are distinguished by their chilling black humor.

Very young people who run away from responsibility, afraid to meet and confess anything serious to each other, are depicted by the recent horror film “Obsession”. A slightly larger number of adults ready to enter into an official marriage were seriously tested by the “drama”. Well, mature relationships in marriage are analyzed in “The Call”, where husband and wife experience a painful “aloneness together”, despite the absence of the usual shock stimuli in cinema: no one seems to betray anyone, no one hits anyone, and even at the level of rhetoric, Joe and Angela try to keep themselves within the bounds of decency. But they are still not happy at all.

Strangers from above appear to them as guardian angels, perhaps even tempting demons (their nature is similar, you cannot tell them apart), whose fruitful provocation will either strengthen the shaky structure of the family, or break it. In fact, the result is not so important: what is more important are the questions we ask ourselves and the answers to them with which the bewildered viewer will leave the hall.