Even the title of this movie is oozing with mystery. And the short summary isn’t much better. All we’re left to go on are the perfect cinematography, exotic location, and Nick Stahl. What You Wish For is an engaging thriller with a dark twist that’s going to hit you like a freight train if you haven’t seen anything like it. We will be following Ryan, a chef who decides to take a vacation from his problems back home and travel to Latin America to see his old buddy. Jack greets him in this big fucking mansion, weary and loaded with cash. Cash Ryan so desperately needs. Here, things take a dark turn. A very dark turn indeed.
What You Wish For is clearly divided into three acts. If this was one of the posh A24 productions we would undoubtedly get those quirky title cards announcing each one of them. The first one is quite mysterious and exotic, as I already mentioned. But it’s also a bit too loose, not telling the viewer that he’ll be in for quite a ride. Just try to get through this opening act and you should be fine. When we pass the thirty-minute mark, things will start getting heated, and much of the mystery will disappear. What will remain unknown is how it’s going to play out. And just how far are they willing to go?
And let me tell you something right away, they’re willing to go pretty far. On that journey, we will enjoy a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle pitch-black humor. Additionally, as you get more and more info, you’ll start seeing past events in a different light. This will enable you to form your own theories of why something has happened. Or why something didn’t happen. For example, I went down the rabbit hole of why Ryan was there in the first place. And the same goes for the character of Imogen and what she knew the whole time. And why Jack did what he did.
There won’t be a lot of action but there will be a lot of suspense and food for thought, pun intended. After all, What You Wish For is another one of those movies about chefs and cooking. I guess The Menu, a 2022 somewhat pretentious and messy fine-dining experience is the best example. Although I have to admit that I like this one much better. I mean, you can clearly see I didn’t even include The Menu in my movie recommendations. I did, however, include Chef and Boiling Point but those movies come without a dark twist, just so you know.
Nicholas Tomnay, who wrote, directed, edited, and produced this film, is a master of the dark twists. I remember just how much his last movie, A Perfect Host, blew me away. You could argue that this one is a bit messier overall, barely managing to maintain suspense throughout its short, 90-minute, runtime. The editing, I think, is the biggest problem as the rest of the stuff was pretty much solid. The score was just perfect despite the fact that composers Jeff Russo and Tracie Turnbull did not ever meet Tomnay but worked only through emails. I guess when you’re good, you’re good.
The cinematography was juicy and focused just the way I like it. And don’t get me started on that alluring Latin American setting. When they hit that blunt, with that fucking view, I thought I was going to lose it. Bastards. However, I will now start to associate these fancy mansions in Latin America with something bad. Just last year, we had the opportunity to check out another one of them, in Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool. Well, I just as might get to right now, no point in waiting. If you’re looking for movies like What You Wish For, you might want to take a look at Fresh.
That’s more of a straight-up horror comedy than a darkly comical thriller with an edgy twist like this one. Nick Stahl was solid, just a tad bit off, if I had to give my honest opinion, something I wasn’t expecting from him. On the other hand, Tamsin Topolski was fucking phenomenal as Imogen. She practically saved the entire movie and added a touch of grace to this otherwise quite dark affair. Once she shows up, the whole dynamic changes, and we get a much more pacier and compact movie.
I know that this coincides with the big reveal but that doesn’t take anything away from her performance. I would also like to mention Randy Vasquez who plays Detective Ruiz. It’s a small role but he played it quite well. Finally, I promise you I’m not that Rabbit guy texting poor Nick Stahl all the time with threatening messages. I don’t have that kind of cash for starters.
Director: Nicholas Tomnay
Writer: Nicholas Tomnay
Cast: Nick Stahl, Tamsin Topolski, Brian Groh, Juan Carlos Messier, Penelope Mitchell, Randy Vasquez
Fun Facts: What You Wish For was filmed in Colombia in just 23 days. Although the country in which the story takes place remains unnamed in the movie itself, we can safely assume it’s Colombia.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13638858/
