Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen play Angela and Joe, a married couple who clearly have communication issues among other issues in their relationship. Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz play Hawk and Pína, their upstairs neighbors that are coming over for a visit, a somewhat new couple that are clearly sexually active, given Joe is very annoyed by the noise they make.
Angela and Joe, as the hosts, have very different ideas of how they want this night to go. Joe, not even knowing this get together was happening, wants to bring up the noise that their upstairs neighbors constantly make. He does not care about making friends with these neighbors. Angela, on the other hand, wants to apologize for their own noise from when they recently renovated their apartment, and wants to strengthen the bond these two couples have. We soon find out that Hawk and Pína have their own ideas for how they want this night to go.
Other than some extras in the opening sequence, they're the only four characters in the movie, and it all takes place in one night in one apartment. Simple enough set up that somehow leads itself to one of the best movies we've gotten in the past year.
All four of these performances are among the best of the year, with great chemistry between all of them, bringing to life four very different characters. The comedic timing from each of them is always on point, as are the more serious moments. Cruz is the standout, giving what might just be her best performance and being the anchor that sells the big climax scene towards the end.
The entire movie taking place in one apartment that's arguable fairly basic could have been a downside to the movie, but it's elevated to the highest possible level with how it's used and filmed. There are so many creative shots, in particular the ones involving windows, that adds so much to the visual landscape of this apartment.
The real standout here, however, is the very tight screenplay. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack found a way to make the dialogue exciting every step of the way. The interactions between characters felt unique to each of their pre-established relationships, information was revealed at exactly the right time, the comedy was eased in with the very real subjects effortlessly. The whole film lives and breathes off of the dialogue and it exceeds at just that. The movie takes some unexpected turns that keeps the audience on their feet, reaching a thought provoking conclusion, all while being hilarious throughout.
Olivia Wilde's direction and the ensembles performances also elevate that screenplay and all work together in tandem. The pacing is pitch perfect, with things speeding up and slowing down at precisely the right moments. The way these characters feel about each other was baked into their body language and facial expressions, adding a level of sincerity to the information revealed about past encounters throughout. Everything was lively and it all kept me drawn in.
It's hard to dive into everything that made the interactions between these characters thrive without getting into spoilers that shouldn't be shared prior to watching the movie. The turns it takes were thrilling, and it's a movie worth going in blind.
All of this made for one of the most fun, unexpected experiences in the theater I've had all year, and a movie I'm beyond excited to revisit.
Score out of 10:
10