Writer/Director Nadia Conners writes with a sharp, biting wit that is funny, piercing, poignant and ultimately soulful. What starts as a couple’s full out argument before greeting their guests at their Hollywood house party, becomes a fascinating reveal following those attending, especially one accidental, uninvited guest.
Almost all scenes take place in talent agent Sammy (Walton Goggins) and Rose’s (Elizabeth Reaser – Twilight) house and garden as they entertain his business associates and clients. Both he and Rose are having mid-life crisis issues. The party is turning out to be a satire, with a run-of-the-mill gathering of self-indulgent, self-important Hollywood elites.
This film for Conners was years in the making and first developed as a play. As Walton Coggins’ real wife we wonder if the character of Rose (Elizabeth Reaser) isn’t a little autobiographical.
Lucien (Pedro Pascal) is the hot actor agent Sammy wants to woo at this gathering. Lucien and Rose acted on stage together years ago and Sammy wants to use that connection to sign Lucien as a client. But Lucien could care less about Sammy’s plans. He’s still carrying a torch for Rose who goes running around the party in long red velvet gown with a seriously plunging neckline and they have chemistry. Lucien and Rose have a hot scene in the garden. Not unexpected. Pascal is hotter than hot in this film and right now. We’ve seen him in 3 films this week.
Former actress Rose and Lucien have history. And she mourns what she might have accomplished as an actress if she had been given the chance. By Hollywood standards, she is now past her prime. Conners deftly shows Rose didn’t really have a choice between the two, as she and Sammy share love for their precocious little son who invites himself to the party.
But the special guest of the evening turns out to be Helen (veteran actress Lois Smith, – East of Eden, Fatal Attraction, Five Easy Pieces, Minority Report, Lady Bird, Twister. The French Dispatch). What a performance by Smith who doesn’t miss a beat. She is 95 years old. Helen just appears in the house. She seems to be delusional, suffering from some form of dementia as she asks where imaginary people are, including her husband, and what has happened to all her possessions.
Helen is adamant that this is her house and doesn’t understand what all these strangers are doing here. She’s in a brain fog and thinks Sammy is her husband when all the self-indulgent man wants to do is throw her out. Her presence isn’t a good look in front of his guests. Rose, on the other hand, is empathetic and stops to listen this poor suffering woman. Even though she’s busy hosting the party, Rose wants to help Helen get home.
In the course of the evening there are laugh lines leading to desperation and tears. Through it all, Helen’s storyline is the most compelling thread in the film. Walton Coggins masterfully gives texture to his shallow character as someone yearning to break away and go out on his own. Gerald (Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat, The Man in the High Castle, Judy) is Sammy’s biggest client Sam desperately wants to sign. But Gerald is a real pain. He’s a coke-head jerk, just out for himself. His gorgeous date, actress Delia (Eva De Dominici) confides in Rose a sensitive situation of her own.
This is a story of misdirection following bits and pieces of each character and how they interact. Poor Helen gets lost in the confusion of all that’s going on at the party, but her character is what elevates this script. Each time the camera turns on the amazing Helen, her monologues expose yet another revelation. However confused Helen may appear, this Uninvited Guest is the thread that pulls this film together in a fascinating study of Hollywood characters.
Foton Pictures 1 hour 37 minutes R
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