It’s mostly a good sign when audiences let out a collective sigh as the intermission lights pop up, indicating they’ve not only warmed up to a film, but are also invested in what comes next. Especially for foreign films in Indian theatres, which abruptly cut mid-scene depending on the whims of the multiplex one is in. In my screening of Olivia Wilde’s The Invite, it happened just as a character was about to explain the ‘protocol’ for sex parties he’s been hosting with his wife. Wilde’s third directorial feature begins with an epigram by Oscar Wilde: “One should always be in love. And that’s why one should never marry.” Featuring two couples, inside a suburban apartment in San Francisco rallying ideas, thoughts, preferences over most of the 108-minute runtime, the evening simmers into something neither will forget soon.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela’s (Olivia Wilde) happily-ever-after isn’t quite what was promised. After his career as a professional musician didn’t take off, and he had to take up the role of an associate instructor at a little-known music conservatory, Joe is marinating in his self-pity. Angela, on the other hand, having made little to no use of her Art degree, is confined to their marriage as a lonely homemaker. She desperately seeks the validation of others, which we glean from how she excels in overthinking the most mundane things. Their marriage, once lovely, has........

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