THE WEDDING GUEST: A Thriller With No Real Identity

The latest film from Michael Winterbottom, The Wedding Guest takes us across Pakistan and India in what’s supposed to be a thrilling getaway. Jay (Dev Patel) is a British citizen who travels to Pakistan to attend the wedding of what we’re told is his friend from college’s sister. Even from his opening shots as he packs, we see his four passports and know somethings up.

Soon after renting two cars, a hotel, buying duct tape and a gun, Jay goes and kidnaps the bride-to-be, Samira (Radhika Apte). From there, the pair go to to India as Jay attempts to stay under the radar. Early on, we learn the kidnapping, and Samira are not exactly what we initially think they are.

While it’s all meant to keep you on the edge of your seat, The Wedding Guest is plagued by sloppy dialogue and doesn’t know what it wants to be. It never manages to create truly tense moments and struggles to maintain a consistent tone.

Warning: The following contains some spoilers.

Dev Patel Holds The Weight Of The Film

Jay isn’t given much in terms of a unique personality – most of his dialogue is purely expositional and meant to move the plot forward. He’s given even less when it comes to his character’s background. Nonetheless, Dev Patel is able to carry the lead with strength. He’s cold, even stoic throughout most of the film. He’s always confident and calculated, never wavering in his mission or unsure of how to escape a situation. Even in scenes that feel random and nonsensical, he plays off of Apte convincingly.

Patel shows that he can easily carry a lead in a bigger Hollywood or studio thriller (even one, dare I say that isn’t written specifically for someone with brown skin), especially one with better writing that manages to get the audience’s blood pumping.

We Never Feel The Stakes Come Into Play

From the moment the action picks up, there never seems to be any great risk. The kidnapping happens with one minimal problem and Jay isn’t pursued as he escapes with the bride. Throughout the film, Jay sees articles and hears rumors that the police are looking for him. It’s even made to seem like a big deal back home in England. He did just kidnap a British expat after all. News stories are where the chase ends – it never seems like Jay and Samira are remotely close to being caught.

The score would have you believe they are always just one step ahead of the authorities. It’s meant to make everything feel more tense than anything on screen is, and midway through, it becomes triumphant when nothing of particular note occurs.

Even the one time lives hang in the balance of a scene, the implications are never made to seem too drastic and Jay is able to fix the situation without any real obstacles. In one such scenario, Jay and Samira urgently need new passports. One phone call and thirty seconds later, he’s connected with the best guy in town. It all adds up to what feel like a series of events for the sake of a series of events.

The Story Never Finds Its Identity

As the story moves into the third act, The Wedding Guest decides to change from a thriller based around a kidnapping to a romance based around a theft. It’s a pretty wild turn that comes out of left field and moves the goalposts on the entire film for no real reason. Jay and Samira are two characters that would make a great couple and be their own interesting plot, though the change from kidnapping a bride to sharing a bed happens too conveniently and too quickly to be believable. There’s no montage a la V For Vendetta where you have any reason to believe why these two should fall for each other.

It’s even more confusing because the characters’ objectives and motivations seem to change on the drop of a dime several times. It all makes very little sense, and even the ending is wrapped up in the easiest way possible.

Beyond the story, the film doesn’t offer much of a point of view about anything. It briefly touches on Indian and Pakistani relations, but quickly moves on. It approaches the subject of the role of women and their freedom in that world, but backs away before it says anything of substance.

Ultimately, The Audience Is Left Feeling Empty

While Dev Patel brings the best performance possible given what he had to work with, it’s hard to feel empathy or root for any characters in a story that never really knows what it wants to be. Forced dialogue moves Jay and Samira over the minimal obstacles that they face with ease. Tonally, the film shifts and changes and is unable to get the audience invested in any real way.

What did you think of The Wedding Guest? Let us know in the comments below. 

The Wedding Guest was released in the U.S. oin March 1, 2019.