Wish You Were Here (2012 film)

Wish You Were Here is a 2012 Australian mystery drama film directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith and starring Felicity Price, Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer, and Antony Starr. Set in Cambodia and Australia, it details the aftermath of a Southeast Asian holiday gone awry for two couples.

Wish You Were Here
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKieran Darcy-Smith
Written byKieran Darcy-Smith
Felicity Price
Produced byAngie Fielder Aquarius films
StarringFelicity Price
Joel Edgerton
Teresa Palmer
Antony Starr
CinematographyJules O'Loughlin
Edited byJason Ballantine
Music byRosie Chase
Production
companies
Distributed byHopscotch Films
Release date
  • 26 April 2012 (2012-04-26)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,549,441

Plot

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Dave Flannery reluctantly vacations in Cambodia with his pregnant wife Alice, her younger sister Steph and new boyfriend Jeremy. After a night of partying, Jeremy vanishes without a trace. Dave and the women return to their lives, each bearing differing degrees of knowledge about what happened and slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together to find out what happened that night.

Dave reveals he slept with Steph on the beach. He went back to the hotel, but Alice was asleep. He goes for a walk and meets a man, who offers to take him to a small bar. Dave went and began drinking. The customers at the bar began harassing him and tried to get him to take a prostitute, but he declined. He gets angry and throws all his money at them. He tells them he doesn't want the prostitute, but will pay for her. The men drag an 8-year-old girl from the backroom. Horrified, Dave begins screaming at them. Jeremy comes out of a backroom and apologises for Dave, trying to calm the men down. The men lure Jeremy and Dave outside. Dave threatens to call the police on the men for child prostitution, but Jeremy tells Dave the men are the Vietnamese mafia. In a fight, Jeremy is stabbed to death. Dave is restrained and the men find his address. They say that if he tells anyone, they will go to his house and kill his family.

In the present, Alice gets into an argument with Dave. She goes to Steph's house and confronts her. On the way home, she gets into a car accident and is rushed to the hospital, where she prematurely gives birth to the baby. In the end, Dave tells the police the truth of Jeremy's death.

Cast

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Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of 67 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Smart, slick, and thrilling, Wish You Were Here benefits from a compelling mystery at the center of its tightly wound plot, as well as strong performances from a cast that includes Joel Edgerton."[1]

Awards and nominations

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Award Category Subject Result
AACTA Award
(2nd)
Best Film Angie Fielder Nominated
Best Direction Kieran Darcy-Smith Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Won
Felicity Price Won
Best Actress Nominated
Best Actor Joel Edgerton Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Antony Starr Won
Best Cinematography Jules O'Loughlin Nominated
Best Editing Jason Ballantine Nominated
ACS Award NSW & ACT Gold Award Jules O'Loughlin Won
ADG Award Best Direction in a Feature Film Kieran Darcy-Smith Nominated
ASE Award Best Editing on a Feature Film Jason Ballantine Nominated
ASSG Award Best Film Sound Design Won
Best Film Sound Mixing Won
AWGIE Award Best Original Writing Kieran Darcy-Smith Nominated
Felicity Price Nominated
FCCA Awards[2] Best Film Angie Fielder Won
Best Director Kieran Darcy-Smith Nominated
Best Screenplay Won
Felicity Price Won
Best Actress Nominated
Best Actor Joel Edgerton Won
Best Supporting Actor Antony Starr Won
Best Supporting Actress Teresa Palmer Nominated
Best Cinematography Jules O'Loughlin Nominated
Best Editing Jason Ballantine Won
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Kieran Darcy-Smith Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Wish You Were Here". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 27 February 2022.  
  2. ^ "Wish You Were Here wins Film Critics Circle of Australia awards". NewsComAu.
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