We have left Halloween behind and Christmas is just around the corner. Perhaps for that very reason, November, which always seems to be in no-man’s land, is the perfect month for a rest, to enjoy the calm of simple plans: an afternoon at the cinema, a few glasses of wine with friends, or a stroll while listening to your favorite album.
A Film: The Invitation (2026), Olivia Wilde
It had been a while since I heard laughter erupt in unison at the cinema. I was surprised by so much laughter at once, as if there were no doubt among any spectator that sitting down to watch The Invitation was the best idea we had that Friday.
It had also been a long time since I relaxed so much in the theater and, above all, it had been a long time since I stayed glued to the screen for the sake of the script with a movie that never leaves the four walls of a house. I owe it all to the lead actors and their respective characters, capable of forming a cast as brilliant as it is entertaining.
Angela and Joe are a couple frustrated by a dull lifestyle in which they have lost the spark for almost everything. She is played by Olivia Wilde, who, in addition to directing the film, becomes one of the cast’s favorite characters almost unintentionally, through naturalness, chaos and, to be honest, by making us identify with her more than once. The actor and comedian Seth Rogen is the one who embodies Joe, a musician who hasn’t managed to fulfill his dreams and who spends his life angry at the world.
On the other side of the coin are Hawk and Pina, their neighbors, that enviable couple in which both are handsome, interesting and everything seems to go well for them, in love and in life. Hawk is played by none other than Edward Norton, a liberal and calm guy who seems to take it all in stride. And then there’s Pina… a hypnotic Penélope Cruz to whom all the good acting adjectives fall short for the role. Pina is decisive, elegant, outspoken, self-assured and aware of her sexuality.
Everything starts when Angela invites her neighbors to dine together at her house. From that invitation, precisely, a relentless sequence of conversations unfolds, moving through different moods and capturing on screen the diversity and, especially, the complexity of romantic relationships. It would not be fair to reveal more, especially if you haven’t seen the work it draws inspiration from, and Olivia Wilde has reimagined the Spanish film Sentimental (2020), by Cesc Gay, itself based on his theatrical work The Neighbors Upstairs. The adaptation has passed the test with flying colors and, scripted by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, one of the keys to its success is that verbal ping-pong between the protagonists that leaves you leaving the cinema with a smile on your face and plenty of moments to discuss.
