Wish You Were Here (2013)
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Reviews Counted: 29
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 0
want to see
User Ratings: 1,177
My Rating
Movie Info
Kieran Darcy-Smith's feature debut is a calmly devastating exploration of how one misjudged moment in life has the potential to cause everything to fall to pieces. Dave (Joel Edgerton) reluctantly travels to Cambodia with his pregnant wife (co-writer Felicity Price) and her younger sister and new boyfriend, and after a night of partying the boyfriend disappears without a trace. The others are left to return to their lives, each bearing differing degrees of knowledge about what happened.
Jun 7, 2013 Limited
Entertainment One
- Official Site
Cast
ADVERTISEMENT
Wish You Were Here Trailer & Photos
All Critics (31) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (24) | Rotten (5)
Examines the toll that guilt has on well-meaning thirtysomethings to mostly intriguing effect.
Top CriticDespite its dubious inhabitants, the film consistently entertains by throwing the kinds of curves one should see coming but doesn't.
Kieran Darcy-Smith's debut feature maintains a vice-like grip that reaches maximum intensity as the mystery is solved.
Joel Edgerton nurses the hangover from Hell in this superbly acted, impressively edited and consistently engaging Aussie thriller.
For the most part this extremely well-acted Australian missing-person drama hits all the right buttons.
For a long time the nonlinear structure dilutes the impact of a bunch excellent performances, led by Edgerton's seasick glare.
It confidently embraces a fractured narrative that ranges across time and between two countries without ever being confusing or obfuscating... Wish You Were Here is deeply excellent on every level it chooses to operate.
Australian thriller Wish You Were Here works as a cautionary tale about burying dark secrets, yet its distractive structure weakens its overall impact.
A brilliant Australian film that examines Australians abroad, relationships and the consequences of having a bulletproof attitude when travelling.
The performances are raw, real and beautiful by the three leads Edgerton, Price and Palmer. And it's a fantastic debut from director Kieran Darcy-Smith whose poetic compositions compliment the thematic contrasts of the unfolding story.
This is an impressive debut from Darcy-Smith and for producer Angie Fielder.
The underdone ending is what prevents a good film being a great one.
Wish You Were Here may misjudge how to tell its story, but it remains a fascinating and highly relevant film.
It is tightly plotted with a scary denouement that nails its point about the deadliness of rogue circumstance in a very satisfying way.
Australian films rarely have difficultly looking good, and this one makes both Sydney and Cambodia look gorgeous and yet slightly menacing.
For the most part, this is consistently strong and intriguing stuff, let down only by a seemingly rushed (or possibly ill-conceived?) final act.
Announcing its debut director Kieran Darcy-Smith as a talent to watch, this superbly crafted tale always roots its thrills in rich characterisation.
Wish You Were Here is further indication (after Animal Kingdom and The Square) that the Australian film industry is capable of telling thrilling contemporary stories with world-class dexterity.
A slickly made but unfortunately distracted debut.
The filmmakers have got everything right for a genre film that sets out to keep us on the edge of our seats
Audience Reviews for Wish You Were Here
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Wish You Were Here yet.
What's Hot On RT
Every Star Trek movie listed
Star Trek is Certified Fresh
Forest Whitaker serves the White House
Trailer for Tom Hanks thriller
Featured on RT
- Weekly Ketchup: Will Smith to Star in Wild Bunch Remake? 26
- Critics Consensus: Star Trek Into Darkness is Certified Fresh 76
- Red Carpet Roundup: Star Trek Into Darkness Edition 0
- Video Interviews with Katie Aselton & Lake Bell of Black Rock 2
- VIP Access: Eli Roth talks Aftershock 1
- Total Recall: Star Trek Movies 85
- Parental Guidance: Star Trek Into Darkness 18
Top Headlines
-
J.J. Abrams Talks Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars, and More
0
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Begin a New Trilogy
4
-
Mickey Rourke Confirmed for Expendables 3
3
-
Brad Bird Still Mulling Incredibles 2
0
-
Reese Witherspoon, Jena Malone, and Martin Short Join Inherent Vice
0
-
Bruce Willis Makes an Expiration Date
2
-
Drew Pearce Hired for Mission: Impossible 5
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
I was sold from the opening credits, with its colourful montage of Cambodia, oh-so-right music, and beautifully subtle, faded in title. One of the best openings I've seen in ages!
Then there's that car crash. It's really a measure of how much I'd invested, and the film had got me to invest in Felicity Price's Alice by this point. The dread of her getting pulled up by the police, the relief that she's got away with something, been given a chance after realising what she'd done, and then, before you know it, I suddenly braced myself, ducked my head, and felt the full impact of that crash, without even seeing it happen.