The Wedding Guest (2018)

A story centered on a mysterious British Muslim man (Dev Patel) on his journey across Pakistan and India.

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Writer:

Michael Winterbottom

Stars:

Dev Patel, Radhika Apte, Jim Sarbh

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dev Patel	...	Jay
Radhika Apte	...	Samira
Jim Sarbh	...	Deepesh
Jane Vande Voorde	...	Maria
Waleed Akhtar	...	Faisalabad Car rental man
Harish Khanna	...	Nitin (as Harish Khannaa)
Nish Nathwani	...	Sam
Meherbaan Singh	...	Osman
Sidhu Manpreet	...	Guard Haveli

Storyline

Jay is a man with a secret who travels from Britain to Pakistan to attend a wedding - armed with duct tape, a shotgun, and a plan to kidnap the bride-to-be. Despite his cold efficiency, the plot quickly spirals out of control, sending Jay and his hostage on the run across the border and through the railway stations, back alleys, and black markets of New Delhi - as all the while attractions simmer, loyalties shift, and explosive secrets bubble to the surface.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | topless female nudity | barefoot woman | 

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Genres:

Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

This will be Dev Patel's first movie working with Radhika Apte.

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Goofs

Jay and Samira go to sell one of Deepesh's diamonds because they are allegedly broke. But Deepesh has just paid Jay $35,000 for his role in kidnapping Samira, so they have plenty of money.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Jay: Hello.
Samira: I'm sorry.
Jay: Are you?
Samira: You can go back. No one knows who you are. I can't.
Jay: Thanks for the five grand.
Samira: I'll miss you.
Jay: If you need anything, call me.

User Reviews

"Can I trust you?" "No."

"The Wedding Guest" (2018 release from the UK; 97 min.) brings the story of Jay. As the movie opens, he is packing his bags (including multiple passports), and before we know it he is on his way from London to Lahore, Pakistan. Once there, he rents a car and finds a place where he buys 2 hand guns. He eventually ends up in Punjab... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from veteran UK writer-director Michael Winterbottom. Here he brings a story of a mysterious guy who looks like he's up to no good. And what actually is he up to? Probably Winterbottom keeps us purposefully on our toes and guessing for a long time. Frankly, one-third into the movie (the half hour mark) and I had no idea who was who or what the big picture was. But then it started to make sense, slowly but surely. And before I realized it, the movie had also taken quite a different direction that what I had anticipated. The movie benefits enormously from Dev "Slumdog Millionaire" Patel's excellent work. He is in virtually every frame of the movie. It feels like he's been around since forever, but Patel is still not even 30 years old! Indian actress Radhika Apte brings the female lead, and turns out to be a worthy sparring partner for Patel. The Apte character asks the Patel character at one point "Can I trust you?", and he responds "No". How can you not like a guy who is so truthful? The movie regretfully suffers from a weak ending. But in the end, Winterbottom succeeds in keeping my interest quasi non-stop by making this a fast-paced movie with likable lead performers and an authentic background vibe as to how things are in Pakistan and India (the never-ending traffic chaos, for one!).

"The Wedding Guest" premiered at last Fall's Toronto International Film Festival, and it opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this past weekend. The Wednesday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended dismally (2 people, including myself). I would be surprised if this plays more than a week. But if you are in the mood for an exotic drama set in Pakistan and India, I might suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wedding Guest

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,266, 3 March 2019

Gross USA:

$386,166

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$386,166

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chisel Films, India Take One Productions, Ingenious Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1