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Amazon.co.uk Review
Set in Brighton in 1951, Wish You Were Here contrasts an England of post-war conformity with the free-spirited nature of a girl, Lynda, on the verge of womanhood, played by the then 17-year-old Emily Lloyd, giving one of the great screen debuts. Filled with youthful energy, good-natured yet delighting in shocking the prudish world around her, Lynda is innocently flirtatious and eager to discover sex. She can't quite understand why everyone disapproves so much, and the film expertly balances uproarious comedy with drama in what is essentially a complex character study. The second, darker half has shades of Lolita, with the excellent Tom Bell in the older man role, while Lynda herself in some ways anticipates Laura Dern's Rambling Rose (1991). Director David Leland also wrote the Brighton thriller, Mona Lisa (1986), and Personal Services (1987) based on the true story of the madam, Cynthia Payne. It is on Payne's own early memories, as told to Leland, that the fictional Wish You Were Here is partly based, while Leland went on to further explore female sexual awakening in The Land Girls (1997), again exploring female sexual awakening --Gary S. Dalkin
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This was one of the few good movies to come out of the 80s. Although I am not keen on films with this sort of theme, I found this an absolute tonic! Hilariously funny in places, which will have you in tears with laughter - before it gets a bit more 'serious' that is.
Emily Lloyd is superb as Linda - the girl with 'attitude', and is most entertaining as we follow her story from the little girl who says 'bum' during a prim family gathering, to a young woman who ends up pregnant after 'bonking' an older man (Tom Bell) in her father's garden shed!
Mixed in with the silliness, we do have some rather moving scenes about a girl who is looking for affection and attention from anywhere she can get it, but doesn't have in inkling on how to go about it... Instead, she sells herself short, and soon discovers that the easiest way to obtain it is to 'flaunt' her sexuality at anything in trousers. Ironically though, this often results into tremendously comic scenes rather than sympathetic ones, and these, however prim the viewer, will simply have to be amused by. Just try and be offended when you see Emily Lloyd's character run around the garden skipping late at night singing and shouting 'up your bum'! I guarantee this will have you in stitches!
Buy this now - it's been unavailable for too long!
Enjoy!
Emily Lloyd is superb as Linda - the girl with 'attitude', and is most entertaining as we follow her story from the little girl who says 'bum' during a prim family gathering, to a young woman who ends up pregnant after 'bonking' an older man (Tom Bell) in her father's garden shed!
Mixed in with the silliness, we do have some rather moving scenes about a girl who is looking for affection and attention from anywhere she can get it, but doesn't have in inkling on how to go about it... Instead, she sells herself short, and soon discovers that the easiest way to obtain it is to 'flaunt' her sexuality at anything in trousers. Ironically though, this often results into tremendously comic scenes rather than sympathetic ones, and these, however prim the viewer, will simply have to be amused by. Just try and be offended when you see Emily Lloyd's character run around the garden skipping late at night singing and shouting 'up your bum'! I guarantee this will have you in stitches!
Buy this now - it's been unavailable for too long!
Enjoy!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The latter of two British films scripted by David Leland and based upon the life of Cynthia Payne, a former madam and prostitute (the other, released just five months earlier, being "Personal Services", featuring Julie Walters), this film looks at her early life and sexual experiences. It does so in the style of a 1960s "kitchen sink" drama, focusing on the everyday aspects of sex and sexuality, such as condoms and nosy uncles. But this film is made absolutely unforgettable by the performance of Emily Lloyd, playing "Linda" (the Cynthia Payne character), in which she displays remarkable fire, vigour, over-brimming life and downright bare-faced cheek (in more ways than one!).
In fact Lloyd's performance is so dazzling that it makes you feel that it is being contrasted against the grim grey boring 1950s the characters inhabit. It's a setting where decorum is more important than feelings which are to be repressed, and sex is often a matter of ignorance or salacious advantage-taking. In this setting Linda explodes, a dervish who kicks against all repression and breaks every rule simply because she wants to. Maybe her behaviour is childish and attention-seeking, but then so were the 1960s in many ways.
And this is just about my only criticism of the film - the 1950s are presented as a monochrome, uniform, dull and repressive era, when in fact they had jazz and early rock and roll and Abstract Expressionism in art, all of which were as exciting as British Invasion and Mary Quant and the Mini. Never mind, each generation paints an unflattering picture of that preceding it, and this repressive atmosphere of course heightens the constrast between the seemingly irrepresible Linda and the dull times she lived in.
I say "seemingly" of course because Linda does get damaged by the events and escapades she goes into, sometimes naively, sometimes more as a victim. The ending in particular is a feel-good fantasy of an ending, especially given the darker second half of the film showing the consequences of all her transgressions. But all the same, this is an extremely enjoyable film, with a stunning lead and solid support (I especially like the apparently unflappable psychologist whom she runs ring around), and with a fair evocation of a time when seaside postcards were the limit of a nation's bawdy instincts. A more innocent time perhaps, but as this films shows, not necessarily a better time.
In fact Lloyd's performance is so dazzling that it makes you feel that it is being contrasted against the grim grey boring 1950s the characters inhabit. It's a setting where decorum is more important than feelings which are to be repressed, and sex is often a matter of ignorance or salacious advantage-taking. In this setting Linda explodes, a dervish who kicks against all repression and breaks every rule simply because she wants to. Maybe her behaviour is childish and attention-seeking, but then so were the 1960s in many ways.
And this is just about my only criticism of the film - the 1950s are presented as a monochrome, uniform, dull and repressive era, when in fact they had jazz and early rock and roll and Abstract Expressionism in art, all of which were as exciting as British Invasion and Mary Quant and the Mini. Never mind, each generation paints an unflattering picture of that preceding it, and this repressive atmosphere of course heightens the constrast between the seemingly irrepresible Linda and the dull times she lived in.
I say "seemingly" of course because Linda does get damaged by the events and escapades she goes into, sometimes naively, sometimes more as a victim. The ending in particular is a feel-good fantasy of an ending, especially given the darker second half of the film showing the consequences of all her transgressions. But all the same, this is an extremely enjoyable film, with a stunning lead and solid support (I especially like the apparently unflappable psychologist whom she runs ring around), and with a fair evocation of a time when seaside postcards were the limit of a nation's bawdy instincts. A more innocent time perhaps, but as this films shows, not necessarily a better time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I loved this film the first time I watched it and have watched it numerous times since but it still makes me laugh. Emily Lloyd plays a 'troubled' and rebellious teenager in this black comedy set in the 1940's. The film is both very sad and extremely funny and definitely worth a watch!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Second time around
I remember loving this film when it was released, I still found it entertaining but a bit tame in
comparison with what we are now familiar with.
comparison with what we are now familiar with.
Published 18 hours ago by Maureen
Great film!
Watched this film years ago and still love it today. Emily Lloyd has the influence of her actor father, Roger Lloyd Pack (Only Fools and Horses), her portrayal of the character is... Read more
Published 28 days ago by Lizzie May LH
Thought Provoking
This film is an all time great. Throughout the performance one feels able to identify with the characters involved, all of whom come across as real people one is likely to meet... Read more
Published 2 months ago by H. A. Weedon
Wish You Were Here
Really good British film - funny and thought provoking. Good performances from all the cast. Nostalgic but not "old fashioned". A must see.
Published 8 months ago by rubycon
Wish You Were Here
This film has very little story. However it is intriguing and relaxing to watch. The seaside location is refreshing as are the other locations used. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. G. Mumby
Great Comedy
This Is a Great Comedy Film a Cult Classic That will stand the Test of Time. It Is Funny Gripping To. There is no 5.1 Sound But the Dolby Surround makes up for This.
Published 17 months ago by Henry29
wish you were here
very very funny the acting is brill the story line is fab one of the best dvds ive ever owned would defo recommend this one..its a classic..
Published 21 months ago by S. mcfadden
bognor at its best
this film is a story of teenage rebellion ,but quite unlike rebel without a cause .far less seriously made and with a strand of humour which carries on the entire film and is a... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by Mr. A. Gorton
'Up your bum'
This film makes you laugh and cry at the same time. Linda, a fifteen year old young woman lives in a world of the hum-drum. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2009 by A. Price
wish you were here
this is an very good film stars emily lloyed as she is the main charictor starts out as her as a young child father returns home from war mother dies and its her way of rebeling
Published on 31 May 2009 by Mrs. Frances Fish
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