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Australia 2012
Directed by
Kieran Darcy-Smith
93 minutes
Rated M

Reviewed by
Sharon Hurst
3.5 stars

Wish You Were Here

Synopsis: As we know, carefree South-East Asian holidays can go badly wrong. Dave and his pregnant wife Alice (Joel Edgerton & Felicity Price) are vacationing in Cambodia with Alice’s sister, Steph (Teresa Palmer) and her new boyfriend, Jeremy (Anthony Starr). After a drunken, drug-fuelled beach party Jeremy goes missing leaving the other three with no choice but to return to Australia to await news about his disappearance.

Writer, director, photographer and screenwriter Darcy-Smith has made a fine directorial feature film debut in this gripping tale of a family under stress and what happens when people suppress the truth.

Shot on location in Cambodia, the film opens with an idyllic beach scene, followed by the vibrant local markets with all the colour and chaos we expect from that part of the world. Suddenly the tension ramps up as we cut to present-day Sydney and headlines telling of a Jeremy King missing in Cambodia. The technique of switching from the present to snippets of what happened in the past is artfully employed, leading us on a gradual discovery of what happened on the fateful night in question.

It is soon obvious that more secrets than one are being kept. When Steph returns to home she moves in to live with her sister even though it is obvious that Dave is very unhappy about this. We are drawn into another mystery as Alice and Dave’s seemingly solid marriage is put under increasing stress, with their two little children caught in the middle. We witness the building tension and lack of trust between all three. The questionable character of Jeremy, a businessman, importing artefacts from Cambodia, is also gradually revealed.

Much of this film’s fine achievement is due to a very believable script and excellent performances by the four leads. Edgerton who now has an extensive film career just seems to improve with each role, and I was completely drawn into the dilemmas of his character, as he juggles love for his family with the dreadful secret that he is harbouring. Price, who co-scripted the film, is a fine actor who brings warmth, likeability and depth of emotion to Alice, caught up in a nightmare she never expected. Palmer (first seen in 2:37, a film about a teen suicide) is a sexy and compelling screen presence, despite her character having not a huge amount to work with. New Zealand actor Starr hits just the right notes as the mysterious, handsome and smooth-talking Jeremy.

As well as giving viewers a tense and engaging story, Wish You Were Here also takes on, albeit subtley, some of its larger implications, from questions of our role and obligations as tourists in developing countries to the question of just how much truth is required to maintain a marriage. When the denouement comes, is it a bit sudden and shocking, but all up the themes, along with a finely shot, edited, and acted story, make for a fulfilling cinema experience.

 

 

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