Wish You Were Here (2013) - Kieran Darcy-Smith

Four friends decide to lose themselves on an exciting, carefree vacation in Souteast Asia.  Dave and Alice are married with two young kids, while Steph, Alice's younger sister, has brought her latest boyfriend, Jeremy, along for the adventure.  At the conclusion of their dream vacation Jeremy goes missing, which in turn reveals a nasty secret about the trip which threatens to destroy Dave and Alice's marriage among other things.  Kieran Darcy-Smith's Wish You Were Here is a dynamic character drama masquerading as a drug thriller.  The film's initial mystery, the disappearance of Jeremy and his potential involvement in illegal drugs, is simply used as an inciting incident that begins the disintegration of Dave and Alice's relationship when dark secrets are revealed about the foursome's vacation.  Kieran Darcy-Smith handles this disintegration well, with a calm approach that slowly reveals how one mistake, one deceit, has the potential to shatter ones world as they know it.  The film takes its time, using a nonlinear approach to expose details of their fateful vacation bit by bit, letting it soak in while the actors deliver strong performances.  This is a character drama that balances the small nuances well, detailing in a subtle way the undercurrent of tension that exists in the various relationships from husband and wife, to tension among men who are in the middle of a masculinity pissing contest.  Kieran Darcy-Smith's Wish You Were Here leaves something to be desired from a thriller perspective, though it succeeds at exploring relationship dynamics, with strong central performances from Joel Edgerton and Felicity Price that make it worth your time.    

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