Wish You Were Here (1987 film)
Wish You Were Here | |
---|---|
Directed by | David Leland |
Written by | David Leland |
Produced by | Sarah Radclyffe |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ian Wilson |
Edited by | George Akers |
Music by | Stanley Myers |
Distributed by | Atlantic Releasing Corp |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | ₤1.2 million[1] |
Wish You Were Here is a 1987 British comedy-drama film starring Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell. It was written and directed by David Leland.[2] The original music score was composed by Stanley Myers.[2] The story is loosely based on the formative years of Cynthia Payne.
Plot
Sixteen-year-old Lynda Mansell lives in a small English seaside town in the early 1950s. She is feisty, outspoken and precocious and tries to shock other people with her histrionic behaviour and vulgar tongue (her favourite insult is "Up yer bum"). Bored with conventional jobs (which she frequently loses) and her town's dull young men, Lynda has her first sexual experience with Dave but after she has slept with one of her father's middle-aged friends, her life changes. She becomes pregnant and her father, a somewhat rigid and conventional man, disowns her. Desperately she tries to seek an illegal abortion but in the end decides to become a mother.
Cast
- Emily Lloyd as Lynda Mansell
- Charlotte Ball as Lynda (aged 11)
- Tom Bell as Eric
- Jesse Birdsall as Dave
- Clare Clifford as Mrs. Parfitt
- Barbara Durkin as Valerie
- Geoffrey Hutchings as Hubert Mansell Template:Nb10
- Charlotte Barker as Gillian
- Chloë Leland as Margaret
- Abigail Leland as Margaret (aged 7)
- Pat Heywood as Aunt Millie
- Geoffrey Durham as Harry Figgis
- Neville Smith as Cinema manager
- Heathcote Williams as Dr. Holroyd
- Val McLane as Maisie Mathews
- Susan Skipper as Lynda's Mother
- Lee Whitlock as Brian
- Sheila Kelley as Joan Figgis
Production
The film was based loosely on the memoirs of the British madam Cynthia Payne as an adolescent growing up on the Sussex coast.[3] It was filmed in the Sussex towns of Brighton, Worthing and Bognor Regis.
Reception
Wish You Were Here has an overall approval rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 29 reviews.[4] Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ stars out of four, praising Lloyd's performance as "one of the great debut roles for a young actress".[5]
Awards and honors
- 1987: Evening Standard British Film Awards Emily Lloyd for Best Actress
- 1987: National Society of Film Critics Emily Lloyd for Best Actress
- 1987: International Federation of Film Critics prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival[6]
- 1988: BAFTA Award David Leland for Best Screenplay
- 1988: BAFTA Award Nomination Best Actress
See also
References
- ^ "RODERICK MANN: NOW LELAND CAN SPELL 'SUCCESS'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. 1 August 1987. pp. E1.
- ^ a b Maslin, Janet (24 July 1987). "Wish You Were Here (1987) FILM: 'WISH YOU WERE HERE'". The New York Times.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "Wish You Were Here". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- ^ "Wish You Were Here". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (31 July 1987). "Wish You Were Here". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014.
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External links
- 1987 films
- 1980s comedy-drama films
- 1980s coming-of-age films
- 1980s independent films
- 1980s teen comedy films
- 1980s teen drama films
- British films
- British comedy-drama films
- British coming-of-age films
- British independent films
- British teen comedy films
- British teen drama films
- Directorial debut films
- English-language films
- Films about dysfunctional families
- Films about widowhood
- Films set in the 1950s
- Films set in Sussex
- Films set on beaches
- Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award
- Juvenile sexuality in films
- Teenage pregnancy in film
- Films directed by David Leland
- Films scored by Stanley Myers