Wish You Were Here

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Wish You Were Here

About

Wish You Were Here

About

INTRODUCTION

Wish You Were Here; a bold, tender, exuberant film that is directly inspired by what I passionately contend to be the most profound moment able to be experienced on-screen;

The closing scenes of the very final episode of a long-running TV show:

Picture the final moments of your favourite series. The once bustling spaces are now empty and silent, yet they bellow with the echoes of countless past moments. The whole group gathers for the last time, a bittersweet assembly where joy and sorrow entwine in a delicate dance. The characters share final exchanges, simple gestures laden with the heavy weight of the years past and the daunting overtone of finality. It is where time seems to slow, where every glance, every word bears an incomparable force.

For such simple moments to move the audience in such profuse multitudes is what I consider the epitome of the beauty of story.

This powerful and complex experience serves as the beating heart of Wish You Were Here. It permeates not just an emotionally-debilitating farewell climax but an entire narrative that stands to truly define the unforgettable times and people that made these farewells so monumental.

“Life goes on… I guess sometimes that’s the hardest part.”

OVERVIEW

Wish You Were Here immerses audiences into the nights you can never forget, shared with the people you can never replace - the nights you didn’t think would ever end. From memorable conversations to adrenaline-fuelled misadventures, we witness the iconic escapades of the beguiling main character group, the boys.

However, in a feature of nuance, there exists upon these inherently great moments a stirring tinge of melancholy and anxiety. It is a recognition that even in great moments, in fact, especially in great moments, there is a feeling of sadness imbued because such moments are uncontrollably fleeting. It is a stark reflection of the stirring, dichotomous feeling epitomised in a TV show finale.

Accordingly, Wish You Were Here emerges as a story that opportunely blends unremitting entertainment value with profoundly moving emotional depth. We privy the audience to the greatest time of their lives, a period teeming with both titularly good and bad experiences - because it is not just the joyous moments that strengthen friendships, but also the thrilling and excitingly danger-filled escapades that forge unbreakable bonds and make for the best stories of your life. Through these momentous events, we earnestly form a rigorous bond with the audience and thereupon leave them with the most ecovative farewell they will ever have to bid.

“How lucky am I to have people that make saying goodbye so hard.”

GENRE

First and foremost, Wish You Were Here is a compelling character drama, centred unceasingly around a close-knit group of late-twenties friends, affectionately dubbed “the boys”. In the same way that Rocky is, in the words of Sylvester Stallone, a love story more than a sports movie, Wish You Were Here is a character drama more than any action or adventure. The additional genres are very much prevalent but always exist to serve the greater story of the boys; a raw and realistic emotional journey. Seeking to vindicate their complex past, they boldly search for a new moral code in a world where such is so flawed and unsatisfying. It is a heavily relatable, intriguing and heartrending emotional journey. Even solely as a character piece, there is never a dull moment.

Complementarily, the premise of the film naturally incorporates a very generous amount of spanning genres and appeals. Following a brazen group of friends on an eventfully wild and dramatic few days, there are naturally going to entail many great moments of action, comedy, frightening horror and thrills. The first half of the film casts these moments under a humorous light in contrast to the second half which takes on a more nerve-racking, intensified approach; all as equally exhilarating and entertaining. Existing so organically, these elements are able to opportunely enhance the narrative without ever detracting from the core drama. It serves as a true reflection of life’s mixed nature, imbuing the story with an authenticity that makes it all the more resonant and impactfully realistic.

Highly poised to become the film’s most defining and publicly renowned facet is its climactic farewell and ending. These sequences deliver an outstandingly hard-hitting and unique emotional impact; the pinnacle of an orchestrated symphony of simple and extensive constructs. Reminiscent of a TV show finale, this very bittersweet farewell evokes a deep sense of nostalgia and stirs a vivid whirlpool of emotions that transcend simple categorisation. Upon the final tragic cut to black, audiences will find themselves in an emotional state beyond words they will be able to compel. It is a monumental experience that is bound to spark discussions for its standout, monumentally moving impact on audiences.

“It’s the ones with a heart who get hurt”

CHARACTERS

The story is led by a magnetic group of late-twenties friends, the boys; Hero, Tommy, Leo and Isaac. This dynamic circle is highly endearing yet as flawed and complex as the world they inhabit. While each character has their own conscientious existence, they entirely function together as a single entity; one whole. It is a specific, unique factor that makes their eventual separation all the more emphatic and devastating.

From the opening frame, every single member of the group is present together in every single scene. This unity is maintained until the climax where the group bittersweetly part ways and Hero' is left by himself for the very first time in the story. After being so greatly accustomed to all four boys’ physical presence, we are left with the three empty seats of Hero’s car and can’t help but feel the glaring emptiness. A painfully-long focus is given to each of the horribly empty spaces. This beautifully simple moment is one of many emotionally-debilitating arrangements that garner the deep-pitted anguish and sorrow usually only achieved in monumental TV show finales.

An important strength of the film lies in the friendship of the boys. Unlike the basic and commonly cliched on-screen friendships, the bond amongst the boys is refreshingly genuine and inspired by real-life camaraderies. The film expands far beyond the typical friendship tropes of banter and jokes, crafting interactions that take advantage of the often overlooked powerhouse of a genuine camaraderie. Elevating every scene, it makes even the simple moments feel vibrant and engaging.

Overall, the story's focus on a holistic group scenario rather than individual character arcs opens up a new category of storytelling. While there is a concerted focus on individual character connections, it's not about connecting to a single character; it's about connecting to the group. This favoured approach creates a definingly original yet classically comforting emotional experience that resonates deeply with the audience long after the tragic final cut to black.

“Home to me isn't a place anymore - it's a group of people that I could be stranded alone with in the middle of nowhere, millions of miles away from all the action of the rest of the world, yet still feel that it was the rest of the world that was missing out.”

SOCIAL IMPACT

The story of Wish You Were Here serves as the perfect frame to address and mitigate the critical issue of men’s mental health and suicide. Acknowledging the stark reality that suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 55, the film challenges the damaging societal norms that view emotional vulnerability in men as a sign of weakness, a perspective that often leads to tragic consequences.

The film navigates this pervasive issue with a balance that avoids being preachy or overwhelming. Typically, depictions of strong and masculine characters portray their moments of finally shedding a tear and expressing emotion as an anomaly; an out-of-character moment for an ‘otherwise’ strong character; a counterproductive message. Wish You Were Here presents characters who are the embodiments of masculinity yet who share emotional vulnerability without shame or negativity. Their emotional capacity is a completely normal part of their strong, masculine stature. I passionately believe the only way to incorporate an ideology as normal is by treating it as normal.

Led by a male character group, I grappled with concerns that this film may be perceived as a male-centric project and resultantly face hesitation to be produced given the current rightful socio-political goals of the industry. However, this feeling was proof of the major problem; there seems to be an inherent shame that is currently felt for wanting to attend to this issue purely because of the blanket of the gender group it constitutes. Those suffering should not be left ignored as a byproduct of another social situation. There should be no shame in focusing on this matter or any of such pensive nature. This film is also not male-centric in its body nor its target audience. While the main character group is male, as is realistic for the story, many of the strongest characters are women because this film is a direct product of my personal experiences, as all true writing is.

Every viewing of this film is another perspective changed, another shame dismantled. Overall, Wish You Were Here is more than a film; it is a powerful and meaningful step into a reflection of a future, more progressed society.

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