From one Wilde to another; Olivia Wilde’s The Invite starts off with a caustic quote on marriage by Oscar Wilde: “One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never get married.” Words that emphasise the contradiction, as per Oscar Wilde, that an institution founded on love could, in fact, spell the death of it.

The Invite, which premiered in Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and is releasing worldwide theatrically this weekend, scrutinises one such relationship on the verge of a breakdown. Joe (Seth Rogen) is a musician and an ex member of a popular band turned music professor. His ennui and cynicism are driving his bright but desolate wife Angela (Olivia herself) up the wall. They seem to share no common ground to stand on. The bickering between the two, minutes before the arrival of their upstairs neighbours for a small get together, brings things to a head. Soon enough the situation begins to spiral out of control in the presence of the two fellow residents, the free-spirited Spanish diva Pina (Penelope Cruz) and her calm, considerate and perennially amused partner Hawk (Edward Norton).

The official English-language remake of the 2020 Spanish film, The People Upstairs, The Invite is powered with some crackling writing by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. The couple dynamic they bring to life is intelligently conceived and portrayed while being extremely funny and incredibly entertaining. The unpredictable turns in the seemingly banal situation lend great momentum and vitality to this classic chamber piece cinema confined as it is by definition to a single location. From the initial awkward small talk to no holds barred confessions of inadequacies, resentment, betrayals, regrets, guilt and amendments, not to forget the sizzling sexual tension, the usual scenes from the modern marriage don’t just feel real but pleasantly fresh and, at times, deliriously kooky. The editing by Yorgos Mavropsaridis and Ant Boys keeps up the pace and soundtrack by Devonte Hynes is like the beating heart of the film’s design. The biggest asset is the ensemble that makes the interpersonal synergy leap out of the screen. There’s something entirely unaffected and authentic to their interactions. It’s not just about acting but reacting to your fellow performer, with perfect timing at that. Shot chronologically, one feels that a lot could have been improved and unscripted when it comes to the performances.

Rogen’s is the most fleshed out part and he owns his character’s complicated emotions and obnoxiousness effortlessly. Cruz gets to deliver the best lines with a straight-faced, stern, provocative touch that makes a perfect foil to her otherwise uber come-hither presence. Her explanation of perimenopause to Joe, cautioning him to never joke about it, is a hoot of feminist assertion, as is her support for the “erotic aspirations of women”. It is creditable of Olivia Wilde to have delivered a nuanced turn as Angela, about to lose a nerve but finding confidence with a little help from Pina. All this while directing the film. Norton as Hawk, the carpet and rug-obsessed former fireman is perhaps the most low key of the four, more of a tickled, sardonic observer of his co-players, like the film’s audience itself.

Adam Newport-Berra's camera moves from being a distanced observer to getting up, close and intimate in catching every look, gesture and expression on the actors’ striking faces. The finale with its sudden switch of mood from the side-splitting to the sentimental is a downer, coming a full circle from the good humoured cynicism of Oscar Wilde to a rather docile and manipulated feel-good closure. But the fact that the film has you chuckling most of the way mandates that you do say yes to the RSVP of this invite.