Then, a whip-smart script and some seriously good acting transport us to an eye-opening conversation between two couples living in the same apartment block.
The couple isn’t exactly on the same page when Angela invites their free-spirited upstairs neighbours over for dinner.
Angela and Joe, having recently completed a refurbishment of their place in San Francisco, are at loggerheads.
Truth be told, their marriage is on very shaky ground and Joe’s regularly miserable countenance isn’t helping matters.
When he arrives home from work that day, Joe isn’t in the right frame of mind for visitors.
Joe and Angela are still fighting when psychotherapist and sexologist Piña (Penelope Cruz) and her former firefighter boyfriend Hawk (Edward Norton) ring the doorbell.
Joe hardly makes them feel welcome, but Hawk tells Joe that he appreciates his candour.
Also, it is clear that there is sexual tension in the air, which will get a whole lot more charged. Joe and Angela are about to be shocked.
In turn, The People Upstairs was adapted from Gay’s play of the same name that opened in Barcelona in 2015.
As Piña, a smouldering Penelope Cruz heats up the screen with her confidence and charisma.
There is an inherent sadness, anxiety, disappointment and frustration in Olivia Wilde’s portrayal of Angela.
She made her mark with Booksmart (2019) and continues to convey that aptitude in The Invite.
I also appreciated the sound bed that accompanies the work. Devonté Hynes is responsible for the stirring composition.
zRated MA, it scores an 8 out of 10.