Review by John Delia
The splendid little comedy The Overnight turns a friendly evening with the new neighbors into an over the top night of uninhibited sensuality. While the theme has been used before in other movies with the most famous being Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, this modern day soon to be a classic leaves nothing to the imagination. Daring, erotic and unabashed yet not a skin flick, the movie has a very good cast and script that bares it all for those who have pondered about kinking up their own relationships.
Emily (Taylor Schilling), Alex (Adam Scott) and their 7 year old son RJ (R.J. Hermes) have just moved from Seattle to Los Angeles. Watching RJ for the day, Alex takes him to a local park at a neighbor’s birthday gathering to try and fit into his new community. Just about to leave as the party’s very dull, Emily joins them. With a bag of gummy worms in hand RJ makes quick friends with Max (Max Moritt) a boy his age. Max’s father Kurt (Jason Schwartzman) introduces himself to Alex and Emily and invites them over for pizza as a welcome to the neighborhood. After a pleasant dinner at Kurt’s house and meeting his wife Charlotte (Judith Godrèche), the children at ushered up to Max’s room so the adults can have some alone time. Before you know it, the couples are taking about adult relationships then sex.
Director and writer Patrick Brice keeps his film intriguing as he spools out his script that becomes more and more enticing as the night goes on. He does a great job of captivating his audience, especially if they are lured by what’s being played out on the screen. Intended mostly for couples who are sexually inquisitive, are curious about the film’s subject matter or are just plain bored with their present situation, the movie tends to treat this group to the complexities of it all. For others it’s an enlightenment at best.
His actors are some of the best in the business with Taylor Schilling leading the way as the naive housewife who has never explored the ‘other side’ of sexuality. She portrays Emily as this inquisitive woman, content with her life, but also open to new discoveries in a shy way. Keeping her mind on her marriage she’s the one looking from the outside in with extreme caution.
Adam Scott puts on a great show as Alex a husband who has a good marriage, treats his wife well and yet has never had a sexual experience beyond Emily. He walks a slippery slope as he gets lured into something strange but exciting. He however, has a sexual imperfection that may turn the whole evening cold. So evading the ‘elephant in the room’ Alex bides his time as the night goes on hesitating to make a “moveâ€.
The catalyst and persuader of the evening Kurt, played extremely good by Jason Schwartzman, controls the night as he slyly introduces the couple to some thoughts that they may have about other couples. He’s very shrewd lacing the evening with fine wine, getting his guest to swim in their pool and setting the scene for what he believes may be something special for everyone.
Taking it all in is Charlotte played aptly by Judith Godrèche a gorgeous woman experienced in the ways of ‘life’ and uninhibited about her body. Godrèche is a prize, a magnificent actress that can make audiences believe in her open sensuality and yet reverence to her family at the same time. She takes to Emily’s charming innocence seeing herself in her at an early stage of her life. She wants to extract Emily’s desires and show her how amazing they would feel.
The film is produced by the Duplass Brothers whose last year hit The One I love featured a very different kind of couples’ experience. Supporting the budget for Patrick Brice’s The Overnight seems to be a no brainer for their kind of movie and the top notch cinematography provided here induces a hypnotic aura from the moment the kids are sent to bed (much like the feeling that’s created in The One I Love). The one big difference; while The One I love has several twists to the storyline even ending with a huge surprise, The Overnight has few surprises and becomes a little predictable. That said, The Overnight’s an amusing eye opener even to the most experienced couples.
The Overnight has been rated R by the MPAA for strong sexuality, graphic nudity, language and drug use. The drug use is profuse, the F bomb as well as other expletives used abundantly and the nudity is frontal for both sexes. Each of the main stars except Taylor Schilling bares all in the impromptu romp.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A nicely written script and bold acting make the film a titillating experience. (B)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Taylor Schilling, Adam Scott, Jason Schwartzman, and Judith Godrèche
Directed by: Patrick Brice
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexuality, graphic nudity, language and drug use
Running Time: 1 hr. 20 min
Release Date: July 3, 2015
Distributed by: The Orchard