Wish You Were Here

This movie only manages to keep viewers vague interest. It also is unconvincing in its plotting and characterisations. Teresa Palmer is given a plain boring role but still manages to give it a good shot, where as Joel Edgerton is pretty week, trying to be mysterious but giving us little reason to care what he's hiding. The movie is well shot and has solid faming and colour but also comes off like a Bali tourism advert at times. The central mystery just isn't that compelling and whatever tension is there throughout the story quickly deflates rather than explodes like it should. It just simply isn't worth an hour and a half of your time.

...and overhearing their moronic conversation. Plot follows: Three people who should never be allowed to breed try to do adult things and fail. Reminds me of one dreary summer I spent in Byron Bay, finishing a Masters degree and writing a lot in cafes. Overheard so many braindead conversations being had by so many dimwitted half-hippies.

How does tripe like this get funded?

Wish You Were Here starts with a barrage of sights and sounds, as married couple Dave and his pregnant wife Alice (Joel Edgerton and Felicity Price), Alice's younger sister Steph (Teresa Palmer) and new boyfriend Jeremy (Antony Starr) holiday in Cambodia. All too quickly Dave and Alice have returned to Sydney, and we find out that Jeremy is missing after a drug fuelled night. As Steph returns home, questions are asked and secrets revealed as the trio try to cope with what happened.

I was intrigued as to where the movie was headed, but at around the 50 minute mark I was starting to lose patience, waiting for it to get to a point. When it finally got to that point, although shocking, I almost didn't even care what had really happened. And the final moments felt rushed and glossed over.

We don't get to see nearly enough of Edgerton or Palmer, both of whom have exceptional talent. Edgerton really embraces the character of Dave who is hiding a dark secret and it's slowly tearing him apart. Palmer doesn't get the chance to shine as her character is left alone to suffer. Considering it was Steph's boyfriend who disappeared, it would have been better to see more from her point of view. Price floats through with the same bored expression as a self absorbed wife. Starr is likable and very believable, but again we don't get to see him enough.

Unfortunately director Kieran Darcy-Smith's first feature doesn't know what it wants to be, and perhaps tries to be a little too clever for it's own good. I'll admit that the stunning trailer with the hypnotic music was what captivated me and gave me high hopes for Wish You Were Here, but I also feel that the trailer gives a different impression of what the movie ends up being about. It starts out as a mystery, but about half way through Alice becomes the main character and the movie takes a left turn into a narrative about a marriage breakdown from only one person's point of view.

The locations in both Sydney and abroad have been beautifully shot. The scenes between past and present flow seamlessly. Besides the opening of the movie, the fateful holiday is shown only through minor flashbacks, which I think are the highlight.

Australian movies certainly have the ability to pull you in and not let you go. But it's frustrating when you know a movie has the potential to move you and engage you, and it fails to do so. This should have been a gripping dramatic thriller, but sadly there are no thrills to be had here.

Saw this recently on a flight from Bangkok and although it was only on the incredibly small screen, I think it was about the right size for the story. It was a very simple tale, with not too much drama and fairly predictable narrative wrapped around a very obvious dialogue. The main lead acted well and that in my mind magnified the shortcomings of the story.

There were obvious gaps in the story that the actors tried to fill with raw emotion but that didn't quite gel with me and there was the willing suspension of disbelief with regard to the final scenes that were meant to sum up so much but instead left you feeling that the tale had been dragged out somewhat.

While on holiday in Cambodia, two couples, Dave and Alice Flannery (Joel Edgerton and Felicity Price) and Steph McKinney and Jeremy King (Teresa Palmer and Antony Starr), partake in all the traditional tourist attractions the impoverished country has to offer, but after attending an underground dance party, Jeremy unexpectedly disappears and a dark secret is buried within the circle of friends. What starts out like a third chapter in "The Hangover" franchise quickly morphs into a simple and dismal story of betrayal that drags its feet through the first two acts, only to conclude on an intriguing high note. However, the compelling conclusion only leaves an irritating aftertaste, since the journey certainly isn't worth the pay off. Director Kieran Darcy-Smith neglects his characters' foundations and significance to such a degree that viewers have little to invest in. In turn, everyone's wavering fates are insignificant and disposable. In the same fashion of the story, Edgerton and Price float through the film without devoting too much into their characters, but once the finale comes into play, they immediately switch gears and display their true acting abilities.