The Uninvited: Film Review
The Uninvited, written and directed by Nadia Conners in her feature directorial debut, is a well-acted drama but its focus is in the wrong place.
The film stars Elizabeth Reaser as Rose, an actress whose opportunities have dried up so she’s focused on raising her son and becoming a life coach. She and her agent husband Sammy (Walton Goggins) throw a garden party at their Los Angeles home and the bash goes awry thanks to the arrival of Rose’s movie star ex Lucien (Pedro Pascal) and a confused elderly woman, Helen (Lois Smith), who shows up thinking it’s her house.
I expected The Uninvited to be a comedy as it’s been sold as such in the marketing. It’s like a comedy of errors in the beginning as Rose and Sammy have to deal with the arrival of Helen and their guests at the same time but once it settles into its rhythm, it’s mostly a drama with a few pops of dark comedy.
The hook of the film is Helen turning up uninvited but I found that plot quite repetitive and underwhelming. I expected there to be more to it. I was much more interested in what was going on elsewhere – learning about Rose’s history with Lucien, what happened to her career and what was going on with Sammy at the agency. These scenes are rich, juicy and very well written and performed.
It was so great to see Reaser lead a movie. She is brilliant in this and should be given the opportunity more often. She is surrounded by talented stars, from Goggins as her stressed husband, Rufus Sewell as the charming actor Gerald and Pascal as the radiant and sexy Lucien. He and Reaser share such palpable chemistry and a sense of history and their scenes were my favourites. I wish they had more together!
The Uninvited takes an honest look at motherhood and the double standards between ageing men and women in Hollywood. It’s such a shame it focuses on the uninvited guest plot so much. A mixed bag overall.
In cinemas from Friday 9th May