Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE UNINVITED [South By Southwest Film Festival 2024 - Austin, Texas]
As a character study, "The Uninvited" [Narrative Spotlight] moves the needle based on its ensemble perspective and impressive cast. Written and directed by Nadia Conners, who is also married to Walton Goggins (who stars in the film), the would-be play turned film is an accurate and yet poetic view in terms of aging and perspective in Hollywood. Elizabeth Reaser plays the woman at the center of the story, a former actress turned mom and life coach who is throwing a party with her agent/manager husband (Walton Goggins) at their Hollywood Hills home. The whole movie takes place in said house but accurately captures the feeling at such a party but interestingly enough it creates a scenario where the people around have known each other too long with new blood coming in. The wild card comes in the form of Lois Smith (who at over 90 still can play really good parts) as a woman who may or may not have lived at the house when she was an actress. Now suffering from dementia, her perspective (and comedy) turns the house upside down in a way.
The movie plots along showing the futility in many major ways of people trying to get ahead and yet getting consumed by their own bubble. Reaser is fantastic in the role especially when she shifts back and forth in different personas whether she is dealing with an egotist actor (Rufus Sewell), a movie star/past lover (Pedro Pascal) or a new A-list actress (Eva De Dominici) poised to take over a role she originated. The feeling and the dialogue are both lyrical and organic. It could have meandered into melodrama but it is quick and acidic enough to really make a dent. Everyone is in flux. Some are in better positions than others, all grappling with what might or might not be important and how much they want to stick to their guns. There are missed opportunities, lies, fights and promises but everyone simply has to lie in what they have created.
There are some nice humorous bits because people are that. Goggins plays an attentive but flawed husband who is just one step behind the 8-ball. It is interesting to see Reaser shift from him to Pascal in personality but also the reality that Pascal plays. He can play empty even if his character wants to be full and that is a unique talent. The film is not slack by any means but it is methodical as its builds. Some of the final scenes, especially after the power goes out intermittently, are the most lyrical and heartbreaking. The essence of play structure actually makes this feel more novelistic even if some of the dialogue is more poised and less organic but it feels authentic. All the characters pivot in unexpected ways like people do and that's what makes this film sing in many ways. A-
By TIm Wassberg
