The Invitation

Logan Marshall-Green plays a man invited to his estranged ex’s house for a dinner party. He brings his new girlfriend. As the evening unfolds, he withdraws, suspecting something sinister afoot. Is he right, or has his troubled past caught up with him?

Revisiting The Invitation after several years, I found it even more engaging. I loved Marshall-Green’s underplayed performance. He conveys volumes in a single look.

I also loved the languid pace. I recognized several hints pointing toward the film’s conclusion but appreciated how the film proves in no hurry to arrive there. It’s comfortable in awkward silences and long takes.

But it almost crumbles under the weight of its own gravitas. There’s an inherent current of black humor the script never embraces, and the cloying flashbacks pulled me out of the narrative.