An Invitation to THE INVITATION: Pages 21–26

In episode 4, host Jim Penola analyzes pages 21 through 26 of THE INVITATION's original script and corresponding final cut – discussing the notable arrival of Pruitt (John Carroll Lynch) and the subsequent verbal parrying between Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and David (Michiel Huisman). Furthermore, the way social decorum and the fear of offending can mute one's survival becomes even more embedded in the film's DNA. | Original Score by John Penola | Additional Audio Production by Brandon Sheer | Follow us on Twitter: @AnInvitation and Instagram: @Invitation2Invitation | Email us: Invitation2Invitation@gmail.com | <3

Transcript

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“ An Invitation to THE INVITATION ”

EPISODE #04.

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LINK TO SCRIPT:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B49bAscvFVQ6TTNfOERFSUgwbms/view

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“ An Invitation to THE INVITATION ” – INTRO.

>>> “Let me ask you something? Why don't people trust their instincts? They sense something is wrong, someone is walking too close behind them... You knew something was wrong but you came back into the house. Did I force you, did I drag you in? No. All I had to do was offer you a drink. It's hard to believe that the fear of offending can be stronger than the fear of pain. But you know what? It is.”

–Martin Vanger, via “The Girl with theDragon Tattoo” (2011) by Steve Zaillian.

Welcome to episode FOUR of ’An Invitation to THE INVITATION’, a limited, chronological deep-dive of the 2015 SUSPENSE-DRAMA written by Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi and directed by Karyn Kusama.

I am your host, Jim Penola.

On this show, I start by reading a scene or scenes from the original script followed by an analysis of those scenes, subsequently discussing the differences between the screenplay and the final cut of the film. Ideally shedding light on all the unique components that contribute to the movie, and how each of those elements fit into the greater thematic ideas of the story.

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Let’s begin with a reading of pages [21 through 26], – picking up directly after the main character WILL sees his close friend BEN get slapped by his ex-wife EDEN who apologizes almost instantly and without much awareness or acknowledgement of how it strange & intense it was… 

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“ An Invitation to THE INVITATION ” – SCRIPT READING.

"WILL, now alone, takes a look around the room. His friends talking together, him separate.

WILL’S POV

He sees DAVID, off by himself, speaking into this cell phone.

…

WILL nods, accepting that he’s being dismissed. He grabs a canvas log carrier."

END SCRIPT READ.

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“ An Invitation to THE INVITATION ” – ANALYSIS.

As per usual, I’d like to address the quote from the top of the episode before anything else to hopefully set the tone for today’s discussion. For those that don’t recognize it, it’s a short monologue from another one of my favorite films that I think is highly applicable for this series as a whole: David Fincher and writer Steve Zaillian’s adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s Män som hatar kvinnor/Men Who Hate Women, a.k.a. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

The entire speech is morbidly fascinating, but there’s one line that really gets to the heart of what I hope to convey with this entire podcast: –quote: “It's hard to believe that the fear of offending can be stronger than the fear of pain. But you know what? It is.” End quote–. If you’ve seen THE INVITATION and/or have been following along with this podcast, I’m sure you already see the relevance.

This is kind of a terrifying notion, because there is enormous truth to it. The context as it relates to Dragon Tattoo isn’t hugely important. The only thing you really need to know is that the protagonist (played by Daniel Craig) goes against his better judgement towards the end of the film because, consciously or not, he adheres exactly to what his captor (played by Stellan Skarsgard) has just asserted. Daniel Craig thought being polite & socially acceptable would get him to safety. Instead, it left him drugged and bound in a murder basement. As Phil Hay says on THE INVITATION’s audio commentary, “Not wanting to be unacceptable can mute your survival.” Which is exactly what happens.

Existing fans of THE INVITATION know how fatal this course of action or inaction (as it were) can be. How dangerous it can be to weigh your manners over your instincts. Which brings us right back to WILL – this very unlikely proxy for the audience – because he doesn’t take the usual course of action or passivity. He’s unlikely because, frankly, he’s not very lika-BLE and he’s not especially kind and not necessarily the kind of person we want to project ourselves on or see ourselves in. We loosely empathize with him because we know he’s been through a tragedy and its frightening aftershocks. Yet, he’s the exception, not the rule, in both the film as well as in real life. Most dinner parties and social gatherings are going to have an understood atmosphere of friendliness and revelry… and not repeated instances of undermining one’s host, which WILL is unhesitant & quick to do.

Encountering a “downer” for lack of a better term is not what usually happens in these situations. And I don’t even like using that word because it has a whole host of other implications that don’t apply. WILL isn’t bringing up conspiracy theories apropos of nothing. He isn’t crudely shoe-horning in politics or the news into conversations. He’s just trying to get through the night – which a lot of the time means keeping to himself. In fact, he seems to actively remove himself so as not to be an emotional burden on anyone – just look at how the character of CLAIRE (played by MARIEH DELFINO) has to force him to sit down and ask about her.

It’s a commendable roll of the dice, on behalf of the filmmakers, to have a character like WILL as the lead. As director KARYN KUSAMA says:

“To be the main character AND to be recessive and paranoid – can you engage an audience in that struggle?”

 I find that to be an impressive gamble to even attempt, let alone succeed in, but it’s one that pays off and stays with you because of how refreshing and well-executed it is. Once more, it’s a huge credit not just to the writing & direction but to Logan Marshall-Green who transposes his usual charisma into a tense and righteous energy that seems to propel his performance through everything from quiet verbal sparring matches to explosive arguments to caustic vulnerability and breakdowns.

We’re treated to an unconventional guide through an emotional labyrinth – to a character who says the uncomfortable but true thing – which therefore gives us permission, in a cathartic way, to be THAT. To be the person who doesn’t bite their tongue but, rather, speaks their mind and says an important, maybe even vital, truth... even if the cost is a series of dumbfounded looks from friends and a less fun party. Which, in the extreme instance of THE INVITATION, is a best case scenario, and isn’t much of a cost at all in the grand scheme of things.

WILL may not be a character we aspire to be, but his brashness is therapeutic in that there’s a universality to feeling isolated or like you’re the only one losing your mind. As KARYN KUSAMA says in her DGA interview from 2016… “[insert sample?] ...in some respects this is a little bit of a metaphor for me about what it means to feel like people are out to get you, when sometimes they are. And so, for me this was a very cathartic way to handle some of that anxiety. Because I think this is an industry that breeds it. So it was interesting to make a movie that was very viscerally about that paranoia.” 

Mercifully, at this juncture, some of that anxiety is briefly alleviated. We start to see how WILL is not completely alone in feeling how he does. In the last episode, we got confirmation from BEN that EDEN and DAVID had been acting off all night, and in today’s episode we get back-up in the form of CLAIRE who echoes WILL’s own sentiments. Unlike BEN, though, she doesn’t seem to be powering through with food and alcohol. Instead, she literally leans on WILL and finds comfort in their shared discomfort. “It’s weird to be here, isn’t it?” she says. Yeah, it is. For every reason. It’s a genuinely nice moment because it shows that WILL has an ally. We know he has friends – he’s quite literally surrounded by them – but we see a kindred spirit now, and maybe for the first time. Whereas, understandably, many of the other guests want to mask the pervasive heaviness with surface-level hijinks & jokes. CLAIRE is a good foil to that. Her one-on-one time provides relief.

Which is what everyone seems to be looking for in CHOI – the famously tardy friend who still hasn’t shown up. The writers do a fantastic job of periodically reminding us of him – sprinkling in scenes like this that will cumulatively bring us to one of the emotional climaxes of the story. We think CHOI may finally have arrived at the end of WILL and CLAIRE’s conversation on the steps, to hopefully break the spell of awkwardness and bring some fresh life to things, but...

It ends up being the opposite.

It’s another one of EDEN and DAVID’s friends from Mexico. Probably the last thing any of the guests wanted. A large, intimidating man named PRUITT. Unlike the skittish, “wounded animal” description of SADIE (the other friend from Mexico), PRUITT is immaculately introduced as a man with a sweet face – with the vibe of a reformed con who has found religion. Which is almost exactly how the brilliant John Carroll Lynch seems to play him.

Lynch, who many will recognize from his excellent turn as Arthr Leigh Allen in Fincher’s ZODIAC, has said that PRUITT is the gentlest character he’s ever played which is a great insight. One that may seem contradictory upon learning more & more about his character, but absolutely tracks in every one of his mannerisms and deeper intentions. As we move ahead in the story, I’d highly recommend looking for this in all of his scenes. Questionable as his history may be, he is a true believer and is spiritually at peace.

So, when observing & thinking about this kind of thespian precision, it’s really no surprise that Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi wrote the part for John Carroll Lynch. And the more I watch the film, the more trouble I have EVER imagining another actor in the role. 

PRUITT is a huge presence, literally and narratively. He looms large. He is the mounting tension made flesh. He embodies all the nebulous, unknown details concerning EDEN & DAVID & Mexico. At a moment in the story when the audience craves relief and the characters crave familiarity, we only get *more* frustration: “Who the hell is this guy?” “Where’s Choi?” “What actually happened in Mexico?” “I thought this was an ‘Old Friends Only party’?”

The best part is that there’s still nothing explicitly sinister happening. But, by virtue of the fact that a painful & not-too-distant past hangs like a stormcloud over everyone, what might have been merely vexing under different circumstances now feels dangerous… and that feeling does not seem to be relenting.

...ESPECIALLY for WILL of course. One thing I love about today’s scene is that – as much as it might feel like an interstitial, uneventful couple of pages of set-up – it is one of the great examples of WILL and DAVID’s conflict because, not only does it play out in front of the other guests, it shows how reasonable they’re both being. They both have calm, fair explanations for their points-of-view. Which is excellent because it leaves the audience squarely in a state of uncertainty – of who should we trust? – and that means the filmmakers have you exactly where they want you. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again: the first time I saw THE INVITATION, I obviously enjoyed it greatly, but it drove me crazy in the best way. I was practically shouting at my TV, dying for the other shoe to drop. At the time, I probably couldn’t articulate exactly why, but now I think it’s because scenes like this – where two diametrically opposed people express equal, opposite arguments – are deviously meant to place the viewer in WILL’s shoes. It’s almost like involuntary empathy. Speaking for myself at least, I know that my first viewing of THE INVITATION made me feel like I was going mad, and only upon reflection do I see how that is anything but a coincidence. It’s by design.

By stretching out the essential questions and delaying the climax (or climaxes plural if you ask me) as long as possible, KARYN KUSAMA doubles down on her gamble with the main character. Just like she hopes audiences will stay engaged with him & his fragile mental state, she hopes audiences will stay engaged with the plot long enough not to feel let down or led astray when the curtain - at last - falls and everything is revealed.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward play, but again, it pays off because to paraphrase NICOLAS WINDING REFN (director of DRIVE): “Violence is all about the build-up.” It sounds like an oversimplification, and maybe it is, but it really works in the case of THE INVITATION, because that build-up is proportional: the greater the anticipation, the more powerful the arrival of violence is – whether that violence is verbal, physical, or otherwise. It can be, and usually is, horrific, but its value is in letting the audience exhale.

An indispensable part of that build-up is the aforementioned dialogue shared between WILL and DAVID. WILL asks...

-Why deadbolt the door? (which is doubly notable in conjunction with the bars on the windows).

–counterpoint from David: there were home invasions.

-”I didn’t hear about that?” says WILL.

–“Then I’m sure it didn’t happen” jokes TOMMY (who is ever the diffuser and who I can’t wait to talk about more in detail).

-”What if there was a fire?” says WILL, which you could say is his “mic drop” moment because it’s inarguable, especially putting DAVID on the spot, in front of an audience of their peers. It’s a good point and reminds us that, as unstable as WILL might seem, he’s not ALL raw emotion. He’s measured and logical as well, even if he’s motivated by hurt.

–So, DAVID unlocks the front door, and WILL “wins” this round. In a little bit of a hilarious “fuck you” moment though, DAVID gently reminds WILL that this is his house now and he runs it differently. WILL may’ve got what he wanted, but DAVID gets in the last word. It’s the kind of perfectly dick-ish line that not only sneaks in a jab but gives him carte blanche for any future disagreements between them. DAVID can basically justify it with that same explanation from now until the end of the movie.

There’s also an eeriness to Ben’s “You guys should have a gun” line after perhaps half-jokingly defending DAVID & EDEN – for one, it simply carries more weight at the end of 2019 and at the end of a decade that has hosted innumerable mass shootings in America. On top of that, it’s very foreboding. 

The locking of the door isn’t even the only reasonable suspicion from this scene. Additionally, WILL notices (but doesn’t confront) DAVID about the secretive cell phone call he took. You could say that DAVID is maybe just being considerate by not having his conversation out in the open where it’s distracting or impolite, but soon after his call ends, GINA (who is CHOI’s significant other) asks if they have service. “No. Almost never” says DAVID. It’s another tally against the gracious host, but interestingly, WILL seems to bank this observation – maybe because DAVID offers the deck as a possible hot-spot. Meanwhile, GINA says that CHOI usually at least calls when he’s going to be late. All of this will collectively inform how CHOI (or lack of CHOI) becomes an unexpected linchpin in audience and character allegiance.

Where is CHOI? Is he just more late than usual? Or did something bad happen to him? Maybe something bad that no one is taking responsibility for?

His absence is a ringing in WILL’s ears that will grow more and more unbearable – an excruciating tinnitus that will deafen him if it is never addressed.

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An Invitation to THE INVITATION ” – OUTRO.

“An Invitation to THE INVITATION” is written, produced, and hosted by me, Jim Penola.

Original Score is by John Penola.

Special Thanks to the filmmakers,

and to the Penola family for their support.

Please spread the word if you enjoyed this episode, and we’ll see you next time.

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