Think Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf and you’ll have an inkling of what to expect from this modern day exploration of 2 couples and their different concepts of marriage and sex. The title of this film has a double meaning. It’s sparked by the upstairs couple’s raucous loud love-making keeping the downstairs neighbors up at night with their passionate screams. Curious about the relationship, Angela invites the sexy neighbors to dinner, which becomes more than what any of them expect.
Olivia Wilde directs this, her third film. She didn’t intend to star in it until her cast insisted. Booksmart was a critical success, but not financially. Her second directed film was Don’t Worry Darling, starring Harry Styles, and was not well received. But this film attracted a lot of attention at Sundance which resulted in a bidding war with big studios. A24 won out over major studios with a bid of $12 million.
Wilde’s latest is actually an adaptation of a film called The People Upstairs by Spanish Filmmaker Cesc Gay that was produced for versions seen in Spain, Italy, Czechia, France and South Korea. This screenplay is well-written with effective dialogue by Rashida Jones and Will McCormick, who also worked together on the 2018 film, Celeste and Jesse about another relationship.
Angela and Joe (Wilde and Seth Rogen) play a married couple who are on different wavelengths, but are wildly curious about Piña and Hawk (Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton) who live upstairs who are extremely active and loud on a too regular basis. It doesn’t help that Joe is a depressed, angry, frustrated musician who never made it big in the music scene and is stuck teaching at a second rate music school. He and Angela live in Joe’s childhood inherited San Francisco apartment, which he could never afford on his own. And he’s not happy coming home to company come over, especially with those who keep him up at night.
Angela studied art and decor but after they married and had daughter, Maggie, now 12 years old, Angela became a stay at home Mom. Curious but nervous about their upstairs neighbors, and with their daughter away at a sleepover, Angela invites Piña and Hawk to their apartment, perhaps wanting to find out how she could rekindle their own sex life. When Joe comes home and told who’s coming to dinner, he goes nuts. He wants no part of it, or them.
It’s hard to keep an audience engaged in a movie that takes place in one setting, Joe and Angela’s apartment. But this turns into much more than a drawing room comedy. The evening turns into series of embarrassing revelations about all of their relationships, including their massive arguments. Angela and Joe’s eyes bulge as they learn about their neighbors’ lifestyle. It’s uncomfortable, yet intriguing to see where the night might be headed. Wilde plays nervous wreck well, trying to impress Piña by putting together Spanish flan and more. She’s tentative but not a happy woman looking for the secret to the upstairs couple’s gusto.
Piña and Hawk (Cruz and Norton) are an unconventional, unmarried couple. Hawk is adamant about being a retired firefighter, not a fireman, He’s overly friendly and sensitive. He is an artistic appreciator which puts in him in good stead with Angela.
Piña is a hot number, always correcting his Spanish. She is psychotherapist and, guess what, a sexologist. Cruz is a riot in this role, so fiery and unexpectedly droll. Slowly feeling each other out, their conversation reveals, what might lie ahead. We find out what each couple wants for themselves, each other and, in particular, from these neighbors they knew nothing about.
Cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra (The Last Black Man in San Francisco) creates a visual backdrop that is both intimate and chaotic. He deftly uses the confined space to let us see reflections in mirrors and windows expanding the contentious environment. As a result, we see more than what is just in front of us as they each explore what they want for themselves and each other, barely knowing who they are.
They find out more about each other than they all wanted to know. Come to find out Piña and Hawk had their own agenda when they walked in the door, looking for a more cozy situation. The film builds until more is revealed to fever pitch.
Director/Actor Wilde has put together an engaging ensemble, with herself, Rogen, Cruz and Norton in a fascinating study of a tired marriage envying the excitement of passion. At times it’s uncomfortably funny. But we suggest you accept this invite.
A24 1Hour 47 Minutes R
