On the surface, this film features a catty dinner party where a superficial woman gets her comeuppance. On this level I quite enjoyed it, although did not totally get all the interactions until I'd watched it a second or third time. The writing brings this element out well, and the performances latch on it, with fake performances and insincerity presented in a way that is convincing in the same way as it attempts to be in real life. Below this level though I found the film to be flawed but yet perhaps more engaging as a result.
Emily has shut herself off as a result of the book of a former friend, and the dinner party sees her given a chance to clear her name, In doing so she regains confidence in herself, and in this way her character is encouraging (we almost see her grow physically during the film) but at the same time I was never totally on her side. The film embraces the catty, but Emily seems just as insincere as the others – so I was not sure why the film wanted me to side with her in particular. In this 'flaw' of the film though, I found interest, because I didn't like Emily more or less than the other characters – indeed I found her to be petulant and just as insincere (albeit in a different way, as she bottled up her real feelings and hid away).
The tight focus of the film helps, and covers from the lack of the fuller picture, or the weakness of a structure that does rather drop you into the middle of the narrative; but even if it is flawed, these engage while the catty element entertains.
