"One should always be in love," begins the epigraph for Olivia Wilde's new film The Invite. "That is the reason one should never marry." Wilde pulled the quote from a play by Oscar Wilde, the inspiration for her professional surname.
Wilde's film is a new entry into the canon of cinema depicting a claustrophobic evening with a bickering couple, a 2026 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with polyamory and imported Spanish ham.
It was the subject of a bidding war at the Sundance Film Festival and released nationwide on July 10.
Morning Edition host A Martínez spoke with Wilde, who acted in and directed the film, about the key to a good marriage.
When the film introduces us to the long-married couple Angela and Joe, Angela is "existing on a very powerful fault line of tension," said Wilde. Both have unfulfilled creative ambitions that have poisoned their partnership.
The couple is forced to confront their pain when the mysterious upstairs neighbors Hawk and Pina, played by Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz, arrive for a dinner party.
Hawk and Pina seem to be the perfect pair on the surface, but it was important to Wilde to show that even the most loving of couples fight.
"We kind of see them demonstrate for Joe and Angela that there is beauty in rupture and repair," said Wilde.
Esther Perel, renowned psychotherapist known for her expertise on romantic relationships, consulted for the film.
Wilde said she adopted Perel's view that the core of every great relationship is honesty and communication.
That, importantly, doesn't mean full transparency, noted Wilde. "I actually think that many people mistake love for melding. It's not actually that," said Wilde.
Listen to the full interview by clicking on the blue button above.
This interview was produced by Margaux Bauerlein and Phil Harrell. The digital version was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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