The Invite review: Olivia Wilde delivers a sexy, sassy and funny take on relationships | Films | Entertainment

This four-hander stars Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde as Joe and Angela, an emotionally detached married couple who are merely going through the motions in their relationship. That is, unlike their upstairs neighbours Pína and Hawk, played by Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, who clearly have a very healthy connection. Joe and Angela know this as they can hear how healthy it is through their ceiling. The noise has become yet another thing for them to bicker about.

Therefore, when Angela invites the neighbours for dinner, Joe is less than amused. Given the tensions between the pair, it quickly becomes an unqualified disaster. That is until Pína and Hawk reveal the antagonising acoustics are the result of their orgies and invite the straight laced Joe and Angela to join them in a romp. What ensues will make most people’s memories of their own awkward flirtations suddenly seem like they were written by Jackie Collins or Jilly Cooper.

This is the sixth big screen adaptation of Cesc Gay’s stage play Els veïns de dalt, following France, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea and Spain. Stage to screen adaptations usually expand the world of the play, such as Amadeus (1984), About Last Night (1986, Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and Doubt (2008).

However, this adheres to the single setting of a stage production – in this case, Joe and Angela’s apartment – and the claustrophobia that ensues only serves to heighten the tension.

When it comes to the “erotic” aspect of the story, many filmmakers forget that sex can be funny. When it is played for laughs, they usually go for saucy innuendo or, at the other end of the spectrum, they aim for steamy seduction.

Wilde, who directed as well as stars in this, manages to find the humour in the awkward sexual encounter the couple find themselves in. It is indeed cringeworthy but is also hilarious.

All four actors bring their A-game and it is a masterclass in screen performance. Both couples are completely convincing and have fantastic chemistry, only aided by an excellent screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones.

Wilde is a very underrated filmmaker, with her personal life often pulling focus from her work (what other director can say they were served with custody papers while introducing their film on stage). This is a shame as she has the ability to draw subtle, yet deeply emotive and layered performances from her actors. She also has a real eye for staging a scene.

This film also benefits hugely from her female gaze and never feels seedy or titillating. Instead, it is endearingly honest in its exploration of relationships, and at 107 minutes, it doesn’t outstay its welcome.

This is far more entertaining than you would expect given the subject matter. It is uncomfortable in parts, laugh-out-loud funny in others and engaging throughout. In a world full of sexually charged stories, it feels very fresh.

The Invite is in cinemas now.