TIFF '18 Film Review - The Wedding Guest

Jay (Dev Patel) is a mysterious figure that the audience begins to try and pinpoint from the first moment he is on screen. He is packing to go on a trip rifling through several different passports before he hops in a cab in London to go to the airport.Landing in Pakistan he goes to the first of several car rental agencies shows an I.D. then goes shopping for a suitcase, clothing and several other supplies that seem unusual for a tourist. Jay heads out into the outskirts to attend the titular event but detours to snatch Samira (Radhika Apte) from her home the intended bride who turns out to be his mission.

Director Michael Winterbottom brings to the screen a story that crisscrosses Pakistan and India. The first wrench is tossed when an unintended hiccup in the abduction sees client Deepesh (Jim Sarbh) Samira's British boyfriend having second thoughts about the plan. He wants to cut bait but Jay not yet paid in full will not have it. Here we see him think on his feet obviously familiar with the need to improvise in his line of work hatching a new plan that should benefit all involved. Winterbottom does a formable job of bringing the viewer into the crowded streets of South Asian life. The traffic, Heat, roadside shops and food all play a prominent part in setting the mood.

Radhika Apte's Samria is no shirking violet herself. She is aware of Deepesh's plan sizes up Jay quickly not shy to use her female charms while always thinking of her best course of action at every turn of the multi twisting plot. Jim Sarbh plays Deepesh as the typical loud entitled rich boy with more money than brains. His family owns a lucrative jewellery business in London that allows him certain freedoms. Dev Patel's Jay is cold,calculating and sharp. He is obviously ex-military or government agency employee based on how he handles high-risk situations, a weapon and his network of contacts that seem to extend all over the world.

The Wedding Guest is not what it seems if you go by the title and the director's usual social interest based subjects. Here instead the subject is a face paced thriller that shifts venues on a dime that including New Deli, Amristar, Jaipur, and Goa.Cinematographer Giles Nuttengs delights as he brings these varying palates to life. It's a brisk ride that stumbles a bit, in the end, to deliver on the fanetic monumentum built earlier on in the proceedings but still well worth a look.

*** Out of 4

The Wedding Guest | Michael Winterbottom | U.K. | 2018 | 94 Minutes.

Tags: Passports, Pakistan, India, Id's, Firearms, Abduction, Rental Cars, Cash, Jewels, Border Crossing, Goa Beaches.