Wish You Were Here

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.

...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?

I got through the movie, the acting was not horrible, but I absolutely hate when the movie keeps bouncing from past to present. Drives me nuts and I have to think the director thinks they are creative, I just think they are lazy and can't tell a decent story. That being said, all actors were believable, and the story did its job. This really shouldn't be necessary to say, but if you go somewhere new, it is not a good idea to get so blitzed out that you lose your sense of well being. Stay safe! Everyone wants to have fun, and Cambodia I have no doubt is beautiful and offers a lot of entertainment. I think anyone who watches anything on Asian cultures knows they delve into areas that are distasteful. It is not a place I would care to visit but if I did, I wouldn't be stupid about it.

Wish You Were Here is a directorial debut for actor Kieran Darcy-Smith and written by Darcy-Smith and his wife Felicity Price. The premise of the movie is promising: four Australian friends are enjoying a holiday in Cambodia, but one goes missing after a particularly "heavy" night of partying. The movie is superbly shot and mostly well acted, but I was nevertheless disappointed.

We see the holiday firstly as a 10 minute sequence which moved too rapidly for me. As the movie progresses the holiday is shown in beautiful flashbacks, which give us insight into the characters as well as depicting some of the events that took place. When husband and wife, Dave and Alice (Joel Edgerton and Felicity Price) return to Sydney, they leave Alice's sister, Steph (Teresa Palmer), to try to find out what happened to her boyfriend, Jeremy (Antony Starr). Dave is uneasy and troubled, and even more so when Steph arrives home and the first of many secrets is uncovered.

Joel Edgerton is marvellous as a man wracked with guilt and tormented by secrets and lies he dare not reveal. Teresa Palmer is also very good, but unfortunately her part is underwritten. I found that I became a bit bored with Felicity Price's character, Alice, especially when we start to see more and more of her and less of Dave. About half way through, the movie seemed to become stuck, and I was wanting the original storyline to develop and to give answers to the mystery. When truth is finally revealed, it is terrifying, but it feels anti-climactic, because we've had to wait too long.

I found it hard to sweep my expectations aside and see the movie as the writers/director intended it to be: a story about the effect on family life when one spouse hides a dark truth from their partner. I was expecting more of a thriller, and even as I tried to accept the way the plot unfolded, I still found it disappointing. At certain times I felt sympathy for the characters and I felt their pain; but there were scenes where the magnitude of emotions that the characters were experiencing was not adequately conveyed, (for example, the ending). Obviously, Wish You Were Here was not as engrossing for me as it was for others, but I wish it had been.