Taking place over the course of just one night, The Invite stars Wilde and Seth Rogen as Angela and Joe who host their upstairs neighbors, Pina (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), at a dinner party. With tension in the air right from the beginning, it’s clear this will be far from a normal night as the insecurities and brief sexual impulses of the foursome come to a head in hilariously real and haphazard ways.
As an English-language remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs, The Invite offered an American take on coupledom and sexual dynamics. Whether viewers related to Seth’s everyday awkwardness or Wilde’s need for perfection, there are many more fantastic films that scratch the same itch and trod similar territory over the years.
From classic Swedish drama to modern Netflix hits, The Invite follows a long line of dysfunctional relationship movies exploring the complexity of love, lust, romance, and resentment. As a director, Wilde tackled some fascinating projects and, with this latest A24 release, showcases herself as a filmmaker unafraid to tackle adult topics and address the dark psychology buried behind seemingly happy relationships.
Malcolm & Marie (2021)
While The Invite kept the laughs coming quick and fast, there was also an emotional intensity underpinning the relationship that made it feel urgent and important. This is the exact same energy of Malcolm & Marie, a black-and-white romantic drama from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson starring Zendaya and John David Washington, whose love is tested over the course of one eventful night.
Produced in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malcolm & Marie is a stripped-back drama that addresses timely themes of fame and infidelity during the era of #MeToo. Although it could have used a little more of the humor that made The Invite such a hit with viewers, this underrated Netflix drama deserves far more attention.
45 Years (2015)
45 Years offers us a glimpse into a long-standing marriage and demonstrates that, even when we’ve spent the majority of our lives with someone, we can never truly know them. Unlike the emotional outbursts of The Invite however, the conflict in this Andrew Haigh film remains mostly unspoken as Kate and Geoff’s happy retirement is shattered when he receives a letter that the preserved body of his first love has been found in the Swiss Alps.
Although it’s been decades since Katya died, this news sends shockwaves through the couple’s marriage, as Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay each deliver profoundly effective performances. 45 Years leans into quiet sadness, as a morbid shadow is cast over the days leading into their big wedding anniversary celebrations.
Revolutionary Road (2008)
It was a thrill to see Titanic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet share the screen once again in Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road. But this intense Richard Yates adaptation offers more than just nostalgia, as its story of a couple in the late 1940s and early 1950s struggling to keep their marriage together offers a nuanced look at timeless themes of love and resentment.
Much like The Invite, Revolutionary Road wasn’t afraid to make viewers uncomfortable as we witness how romantic expectations clash with everyday life. While this couple had grand ambitions to get a fresh start in Paris, throughout the course of the film we see how an unplanned pregnancy dashed their dreams and allowed betrayal, resentment, and eventual tragedy to flourish.
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives offered a brutal glimpse into the realities of a crumbling relationship, and felt all the realer when considering the behind-the-scenes crisis going on between Allen and Mia Farrow at the time. Following the couple Gabe and Judy, whose romantic disillusionment is brought to a head when they learn about their close friends Jack and Sally’s separation.
Rather than focus on just one relationship, Husbands and Wives shows the ripple effects of this break-up, as other couples start to question their own marriages. With affairs and awkward conversations aplenty, Husbands and Wives was refreshingly unsentimental, even if its reputation has inevitably been complicated by the controversy that has come to define Allen's reputation.
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman practically defined the dysfunctional relationship subgenre with Scenes from a Marriage, his 1973 magnum opus miniseries that was also released theatrically. Exploring the disintegrating relationship of Marianne (Liv Ullmann) and Johan (Erland Josephson) over the course of 10 years, Bergman offers a nuanced and compelling look at the way romance fades and people change over time.
Scenes from a Marriage was so effective in its storytelling that it’s believed to have actually increased divorce rates across Europe, with couples seeing the film and questioning their own marriages. Packed with psychological tension and thought-provoking takes on the nature of love, Scenes from a Marriage feels incredibly modern for its time and was lauded by Roger Ebert as the best movie of the year.
Marriage Story (2019)
Like The Invite, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story doesn’t offer an easy answer for what ultimately leads to the demise of romance. Rather than have one person be the hero and another a villain, instead we see how Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole’s (Scarlett Johansson) attempts to traverse their divorce with kindness slowly turn bitter, despite everyone doing their best.
Baumbach observes heartache with compassion in Marriage Story with a sharp script likely informed by his marriage and subsequent divorce from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. Marriage Story showcased how legal proceedings can intensify already fraught circumstances, with Laura Dern’s compelling turn as a fierce divorce lawyer even earning her an Academy Award.
Gone Girl (2014)
While both Gone Girl and The Invite explore the quiet frustrations that lead to relationship breakdowns, they do so in very different manners. This adaptation of the bestselling thriller by Gillian Flynn takes a dark turn as Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) becomes the primary suspect when his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) disappears.
Coming from director David Fincher, Gone Girl addresses modern marriage in a way few films before it have, and Pike’s incredible “cool girl” speech gives great insight into the unseen expectations placed on women in the flippant cultural world of today. With plenty of twists and turns, Gone Girl will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish with suspense and social commentary that’s totally unpredictable.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
In many ways, The Invite owes its existence to the legacy of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? With a similar set-up, this 1960s classic sees a couple dismantle each other emotionally in real time, as a late-night dinner party takes a turn for the worse after an older couple invites a younger couple to their house and subjects them to cruel mind games.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a classic of its genre, with uncomfortable dialogue and alcohol-fueled resentment bubbling to the surface in a deeply uncomfortable display. The intensity is made all the more compelling when considering its stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton notoriously got married and divorced one another twice, highlighting that their conflict was just as fiery behind the scenes.
Release Date
June 26, 2026
Runtime
108 minutes
Director
Olivia Wilde
© A24 /Courtesy Evereett Collection
English (US) ·