User Reviews

I would like to give this movie a higher rating. Both of the leads are incredibly attractive, and good actors who created characters who quickly captured my interest. The settings gave me an satisfying dose of some aspects of Indian and Pakistani culture and day to day realities, and what it might be like to exist in that space as a moderately privileged person. The plot setup in the beginning 25 minutes or so was good, and I thought "This might really go somewhere". But it didn't. It just kind of sat there, and then ended.

"The Wedding Guest" (2018 release from the UK; 97 min.) brings the story of Jay. As the movie opens, he is packing his bags (including multiple passports), and before we know it he is on his way from London to Lahore, Pakistan. Once there, he rents a car and finds a place where he buys 2 hand guns. He eventually ends up in Punjab... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from veteran UK writer-director Michael Winterbottom. Here he brings a story of a mysterious guy who looks like he's up to no good. And what actually is he up to? Probably Winterbottom keeps us purposefully on our toes and guessing for a long time. Frankly, one-third into the movie (the half hour mark) and I had no idea who was who or what the big picture was. But then it started to make sense, slowly but surely. And before I realized it, the movie had also taken quite a different direction that what I had anticipated. The movie benefits enormously from Dev "Slumdog Millionaire" Patel's excellent work. He is in virtually every frame of the movie. It feels like he's been around since forever, but Patel is still not even 30 years old! Indian actress Radhika Apte brings the female lead, and turns out to be a worthy sparring partner for Patel. The Apte character asks the Patel character at one point "Can I trust you?", and he responds "No". How can you not like a guy who is so truthful? The movie regretfully suffers from a weak ending. But in the end, Winterbottom succeeds in keeping my interest quasi non-stop by making this a fast-paced movie with likable lead performers and an authentic background vibe as to how things are in Pakistan and India (the never-ending traffic chaos, for one!).

"The Wedding Guest" premiered at last Fall's Toronto International Film Festival, and it opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this past weekend. The Wednesday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended dismally (2 people, including myself). I would be surprised if this plays more than a week. But if you are in the mood for an exotic drama set in Pakistan and India, I might suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Just to put in plain and simple words, the start of the movie was brilliant the director right away catches the attention of the audience and they get lured into the storyline. Dev was great no doubt about that but the only issue I have throughout the film was the background of the female lead character (Radhika Apte). The director didn't give out any such information on how the personality of the female lead is and how it would react in situations put before the movie. The rest is brilliant. I do understand one could say on one of the dialogues when Radhika asks Dev can you I trust you and he says No maybe that is the answer but once again that is situational not the background. Anyways its a good movie but the ending as I agree with my fellow watchers could have been great instead of the this then this movie would have done more business guaranteed.

The Wedding Guest should have been an engaging and rock solid thriller like t was advertised to be (the trailer is arguably one of the best I've seen in awhile). Unfortunately, the movie was a huge slog and went on for way too long without really going anywhere or proving anything. Dev Patel was fantastic as always and the romance was great, but at what cost?

C-

Has its moments (especially the first 20 minutes) but ultimately meanders its way to nowhere with a few pointless stops and illogical plots twists in between. Well acted though the Indian backdrop is probably the true star.

Great beginning interesting cultural arranged wedding storyline great streetscapes taking me back to India and Pakistan action adventure drama romance - I kind of liked the abrupt unhappy yet happy ending It felt realistic (or maybe that's just from my experience with romance hahaa) I liked it! 7 out of 10!!

Movie: The Wedding Guest IMDb: 5.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 44%

"The Wedding Guest" is a British American thriller drama movie that was first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018 starring Dev Patel, Jim Sarbh, and Radhika Apte. The story revolves around a kidnapper who got paid for kidnapping a bride from her wedding in Pakistan.

The first half was really engaging. But the movie suddenly twisted its genre from a thriller to a romantic movie. If it turned out as a thriller comedy, it could have been far better. There were many loopholes in the storyline. Some shots are really good though. But the most impressive part of the movie is Dev Patel. Jim and Radhika also gave their best here. But Dev overtopped everyone else's performances.

If Dev were not there, I would have skipped this film for sure. To my opinion, "The Wedding Guest" is a one-time watch movie.

At first the film seems intriguing. A man packing his bag with a number of passports. Buying two guns. Buying duct tape. However it never gets interesting or really goes anywhere. This slowly burns and then just fizzles out. By the time you find out what he is doing, you don't really care anymore. The only reason I have given it two is that you really do feel like you are in Pakistan and India and there are some amazing shots. Apart from that just don't bother.

I was never a huge Dev Patel fan and I'm still not after watching this movie, but if there was any doubt about his acting talent he's put it to rest here by pulling off a "tough guy" role convincingly, despite his bookish appearance.

As for Radhika Apte, I've always found her exceptionally talented and she's no different in this movie. She brings a realism to her roles like no other actress who comes to mind. I can say without any exaggeration that every performance of hers that I've watched has been Oscar-worthy. I'm certain she'll get there someday, given the right opportunity.

About the movie, the best compliment I can give it is: I was never bored. The director uses a light-handed approach and never gets in the way, everything plays out in a natural, realistic manner. Even parts of the story that should be high-points don't really grab you by the gut, this I think, stopped the movie from being memorable in any way. A crime-adventure-thriller that plays out like a slice of life movie. Also, the story doesn't seem to want to go anywhere exceptional or evoke anything more than a casual interest from the viewer. It's a decent casual watch but if you want a high octane crime drama that'll blow your socks off, look elsewhere.

Director Michael Winterbottom is one of the busiest directors about. He has also made several films based in the Indian subcontinent such as A Mighty Heart.

The film opens like a brooding thriller. Jay (Dev Patel) is a man on a mission going to Pakistan to attend a wedding. However this wedding guest plans to abduct the bride, Samira (Radhika Apte) who is going through an arranged marriage.

Jay has been hired by Samira's boyfriend Deepesh and the plan is for them to reunited in India. The plan goes wrong and Deepesh turns out to be a bit of a creep. Jay and Samira need to keep their wits about.

Dev looks bulked up and mean. However it is very difficult to take the story seriously. His character cannot speak Urdu for a start so he is navigating around Pakistan and asking people if they speak English. He will have the same problem in India with his inability to speak Hindi (which is similar to Urdu) so it is a good job that Samira can speak the lingo.

The boyfriend Deepesh is a bit of an untrustworthy idiot but hints that Samira might just be a femme fatale. The Wedding Guest shifts to being a noirish type thriller but it is too subdued and flat. The main leads do not sizzle and the escape plan is too convoluted. India is a big country and Jay and Samira seem to want to cover every inch of it.

It is a 7+. Loved it. Simple yet thrilling. Dry but still romantic. Amazing acting. Travel across pakistan and india. Watch it.

Dev Patel is just wasted in this movie. Was waiting for it to get exciting and it never delivered. The only thing was the locations across India which were amazing.

She loves to eat, it would be cheaper to take her shopping for shoes! And does she ever sleep?! Oh well, Deepesh did say she's a snake! It started off good and fell flat before midpoint. How can people say that this was a great movie and that the acting was powerful when all the actors did was ride in vehicles most of the movie! It even ends with her riding in a vehicle!

Holds the attention. Winterbottom delivers on the content. It works but I wouldn't say it will for all.

Seemed like in the first 10-15 mins it was going to be interesting then just lost any momentum and fizzled out. Unfortunate, solid performance from the leads.

I saw the bad reviews and thought they were wrong. This is a really novel story a Bonnie & Clyde with a subcontinental twist. Acting and scenery were beautiful. Worth a watch.

A good film with a different storyline to many I've seen about, easy to follow story but lots of doubting with which characters to trust etc which keeps a bit of suspense. The filming locations were fantastic and gave a really good feel to the whole film.

Beautiful shots through some beautiful locations all natural light. Story might work for a 3 minute music video but such a stretch for 90 minute film. Not one thrilling moment in the entire movie.

The film tells the story of a mysterious man who abducts the bride to be just before a wedding.

The story starts off intriguing and engaging, but derails into a mess after a short time. The story becomes very contrived, lacks tension and does not captivate viewers. The last half of the film is frankly unbelievable and even laughable. Honestly, there is no point in watching this mess.

"The Wedding Guest" showcases local cinematography that compliments its theme, with bold sequences again reinforcing the narrative. Radhika Apte & Dev Patel deliver crucial performances and it's fortunate to notice such good characterisation. Rest all supporting actors lack significant scope and all the eyes were just on lead characters. Jim Sarbh was highly underused. The film effectively presents beautiful crafted scenes that enhance emotional depth of characters which was deeply supported by solid direction & well tailored sound design of the film. While most of the scenes seemed predictable, still the story kept audience's interest till last second. Overall the film was worth watching offering a overall enjoyable experience.