It’s a summer evening in LA and the Warrens are throwing a garden party for some friends, including actors for whom Sammy (Walton Goggins – “Fallout”) is their talent agent.
As she is dressing for the party, Sammy’s wife Rose (Elizabeth Reaser – “Dark Harvest”) goes to check on a car honking at their driveway gate. She finds an elderly woman, Helen (Lois Smith – “The French Dispatch”) sitting in her car and trying to open what she thinks is the gate to her home. Clearly distressed and apparently confused, Helen is invited into the house by Rose, as the party guests begin to arrive.
As Rose devotes time to trying to take care of Helen while also contacting people who could come for her, Sammy is mingling with the guests: Gerald (Rufus Sewell – “The Diplomat”) an actor who worked with Rose before she became a mother and who is Sammy’s biggest client; Delia (Eva De Dominici – “The Cleaning Lady”) a rising star; and Lucien (Pedro Pascal – “The Last of Us”), a legendary actor and Rose’s lover from before she wed Sammy.
As the evening progresses, Rose interacts with Helen and Delia, and begins to unwrap her feelings of disappointment with the direction her life has taken – from the age-ism that sidetracked her career, to the disappointing relationship with Sammy, to her desperate love for her son, Wilder (Roland Rubio – “Tab Time”). Meanwhile, we discover Sammy has been fired from the talent agency he worked at – for cause.
This is an engrossing film about a family, outwardly blessed with status and solidity, but which underneath is awash in disappointment and insecurity. Writer/director Nadia Connors (“The 11th Hour”) has given us fleshed out characters we can empathize with – even identify with. The dialogue is crisp, clever and – between Sammy and Rose – often passive-aggressive. Rose: “Do you even know where the toolbox is?” Sammy: “I didn’t even know we had a toolbox.” Rose: “Uhh! Your father’s turning in his grave!” Sammy: “OK, so why does a 90 year old doorknob become a reason for you to attack my masculinity?” See what I mean?
Lois Smith turns in an outstanding performance as the catalyst for the whole evening of unraveling and re-evaluation. Alternately perceptive and confused, she could be Rose’s mother, her cohort, even her child as the evening progresses. Another standout is Elizabeth Reaser, whose role as former star and current anchor of a family she finds unfulfilling is carefully teased open by the screenplay. And, finally, Walton Goggins is alternately argumentative, enraged, and despairing as a man unable to come to terms with his failures.
This is a great film and should not be missed.
Notes: Nadia Connors is actually married to Walton Goggins.
There are many films entitled “The Uninvited,” including the famous ghost story starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey.
Runtime – One hour, 38 minutes
Availability – Currently in limited theatrical release; available on many screening services
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