We review ‘The Invitation’, Olivia Wilde’s new film

If in a criticism it is usually advisable to compare the work in question with the original that it adapts, in the case of “The Invitation”third film as director of Olivia Wildethe reference to the film that has given it the possibility of existing is obligatory, due to its proximity: “Sentimental”by Cesc Gay, also based on his own play, “Els veïns de dalt” (The neighbors upstairs).

“Sentimental”the uncomfortable meeting of two neighbor couples, has become an unexpected international success due to the various foreign adaptations it has generated, from France to Korea through Germany, Russia and, now, the United States.

Nominated for the European Film Award for Best Comedy, the Spanish film was a great option for an adaptation with little risk: few actors, indoor filming and incisive dialogue. The challenge for Wilde’s film is that there was little to improve on the original. In that sense, we must praise the variations in the initial character presentation scene, more elaborate and with more progression, not as direct as in “Sentimental”. However, the American film, which features, by the way, Rashida Jones, daughter of the legendary Quincy, as co-writer, lasts twenty-five minutes longer than Gay’s film, additional footage that includes interesting deviations that could have made it “The Invitation” a suggestive reinterpretation. However, he ends up retracing his steps, so instead of taking a shortcut, he takes more turns to reach the same place as Gay. Too many saddlebags.

As for the actors, the only ones who are at the brilliant level of the Sentimental cast are Penélope Cruz (in the role of Belén Cuesta) and Edward Norton (as Alberto San Juan). Seth Rogen convinces, but does not match a superlative Javier Cámara and a histrionic Olivia Wilde, who on the other hand does a good job behind the cameras clarifying the theatrical origin of the piece, offers a poor digestion of Griselda Siciliani’s delicious performance.