Wish You Were Here (1987)

Fresh and Exciting

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The very first thing that Emily Lloyd ever did, back in 1987. She is "Lynda"... a youngster and her trials and tribulations in old England. She keeps losing jobs and can't seem to make friends. I'm guessing she would be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder in more modern times, but this was "back in the 1950s", and they didn't really know what to do with her then. She can't seem to get enough, sexually, and defies her dis-approving father. Kind of slow moving, but an interesting period piece from post WW II England. Needed some spiffing up... maybe a stronger script, or maybe some big names in the cast. Everyone gives a fine performance... its just a bit flat and slow. Written and directed by David Leland. Not much info available on him. Lots of "Lelands" in the cast list, so I'm guessing he used family members in his films. An okay way to spend an hour and a half. Some funny bits. (Lynda does an "Up Ya Bum" dance.) Some sad bits. Some plain ol every-day living bits.

Lynda Mansell (Emily Lloyd) is a brash rebellious teenager in a staid post-war English seaside town. She is crude, flirtatious and loves to insult with "Up your bum". She has wild mood swings and constantly gets fired from her jobs. She gets sent to a psychiatrist. She has flings. Her father's bookie pushes his way into her life and she joins in an affair that results in a pregnancy.Emily Lloyd is fantastic. As a drama, the movie needs more tension. She could be challenged by a wife. Or else, she has to have something that could be lost by her behavior. None of the guys are worth a dime. By the movie's own account, it's inevitable that she would separate from her father. If there are no stakes, there is no danger. As a comedy, it has one extremely funny sequence. It's hilarious when she gets fired. The movie needs a few more comedic sequences like that. She needs a partner to play the comedy off of. Emily Lloyd is great but she's alone too much.

This is a strange low-budget British drama about a young, promiscuous woman (was Lynda supposed to be a teenager throughout the film?) who asserts her independence in strange way (though less strange by the finale). Her precocious behavior stems from an odd relationship with her family. Once her mother dies, she becomes alienated from her estranged father and her "boring" sister (seriously, what was this kid doing all the time walking around in a scouts uniform carrying a flag?). Nonetheless, I suppose seeking solace in a meaningful relationship with other men (but I assume she realizes that none of these relationships are actually meaningful at all), she goes from one man to another, which serves only to further aggravate her father and others around her. Set in the late 40s/early 50s England, her outlandish, exhibitionist behavior is perceived as much more wild and offensive as she attempts to basically turn any convention about young women of the period on its head. (Whether this is to gain her father's attention, I'm never sure). Until the ultimate staging of independence (see the movie, why don't'cha?).As odd as the film was (I especially was amused by Lynda's intent to use as much foul language as possible whenever the opportunity presented itself, which was often), Emily Lloyd did a fine job in the lead character. Although she is familiar to these types of roles, reminiscent of her character, Cookie (Cookie, 1989) or Samantha (In Country, 1989), or countless other films that she appeared in, portraying the same type of character. It is not at all surprising that her film debut role would garner her Best Actress awards (British honors and the National Society of Film Critics Awards--US). She was an excellent choice for the part and that is reason alone to see it.

An excellent study of austere england in war. A troubled character trying hard to become an adult, with all the petulance associated with teenagers (whatever the decade). It must be a hard film for north americans to watch, no gluto inous consumption, all that human frailty. Good job it wasn't made for them, we European liberals love this sort of thing.