The Dinner

Suddenly an indie staple, Richard Gere headlines the ensemble cast of Oren Moverman’s The Dinner, playing a slick politician and older brother to Steve Coogan’s psychologically bothered black sheep. Coogan and his eternally patient wife (Laura Linney) grudgingly accept an invitation to dine with Gere and his much younger second wife (Rebecca Hall), but the lavish meal is just an excuse to air grievances about a disturbing incident involving the brothers’ teenage sons. Moverman is an accomplished screenwriter (he contributed to Jesus’ Son, I’m Not There and Love & Mercy, among others), and he draws more flavors than you might expect out of these uninspiring ingredients, but his direction of The Dinner is annoyingly fussy. The action is organized by title cards that read “Appetizer” and “Main Course,” but the film is much more interesting in its amuse-bouche diversions, including a surreal and emotional trip to the battlefield at Gettysburg. D.B.