Wish You Were Here Movie Review

Considerable controversy surrounded the making of Wish You Were Here because of its sexual candor and because its star was then just 16 years old. Yet Emily Lloyd's performance as the emotionally battered Linda is one of the most heartfelt and authentic portraits of a teen ever seen on film. You can always tell when Linda's guts have been ripped out—her sarcasm goes into high gear. Equally good is Tom Bell's seedy portrayal of a grungy older projectionist in dark glasses who stalks her in shadowy alleys and plays busy mitts with her when Daddy's out of the room. There is no nudity and there is nothing—repeat—nothing erotic about their scenes together. What is explicit is the enormous resilience of Linda's character as she survives repeated rejections by her father and the subsequent men in her life. AKA: Too Much.

1987 92m/C GB Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Clare Clifford, Barbara Durkin, Geoffrey Hutchings, Charlotte Barker, Chloe Leland, Trudy Cavanagh, Jesse Birdsall, Geoffrey Durham, Pat Heywood; D: David Leland; W: David Leland; C: Ian Wilson; M: Stanley Myers. British Academy Awards ‘87: Best Original Screenplay; National Society of Film Critics Awards ‘87: Best Actress (Lloyd). VHS, LV