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The Wedding Guest

Play trailer 2:07 Poster for The Wedding Guest R 2019 1h 34m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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45% Tomatometer 73 Reviews 36% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Jay is a man with a secret who travels from Britain to Pakistan to attend a wedding - armed with duct tape, a shotgun, and a plan to kidnap the bride-to-be. Despite his cold efficiency, the plot quickly spirals out of control, sending Jay and his hostage on the run across the border and through the railway stations, back alleys, and black markets of New Delhi - as all the while attractions simmer, loyalties shift, and explosive secrets bubble to the surface.
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The Wedding Guest

The Wedding Guest

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Critics Consensus

The Wedding Guest makes a compelling argument for Dev Patel as an actor worthy of diverse leading roles, even if the movie's less than the sum of its action thriller parts.

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Critics Reviews

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Andrea Gronvall Chicago Reader 03/24/2020
In the end, the screenplay is the letdown, hewing too closely to generic convention. Go to Full Review
Mark Kermode Kermode & Mayo's Film Review 07/25/2019
Something you will have to seek out, but Michael Winterbottom is always worth seeking out. Go to Full Review
Simran Hans Observer (UK) 07/20/2019
4/5
More than anything, this wiry thriller works as a homage to the neo-noir genre. Go to Full Review
M.N. Miller Ready Steady Cut 08/20/2022
3.5/5
The melting-pot of genres aside, The Wedding Guest is worth a look based on its steady hand, a pair of strong lead performances, and a rousing musical score, but really needed that one thing to bring it all together. Go to Full Review
Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 10/28/2020
His controversial nudes and other graphic images are here, yet the film itself feels conventional and tepid. Go to Full Review
Matthew St. Clair Cinema Sentries 10/01/2020
A meditative yet thrilling genre bender. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Charles S Jan 28 An insightful tour of parts of modern Pakistan and India, with a plot that unfolds in unexpected ways. Conveys the multilingual contexts well. The ending - and the ethics - has little of the 'resolution' craved by many. A bit like many Australian dramas, which begin somewhere, follow the participants due a while and then just stop ... Dev Patel can sure act! See more Nigah K 04/11/2024 The movie was pointless, with a weak storyline. Although the actors portrayed their roles well, Apte's character did not seem like a Pakistani girl sorry. It was unclear why the kidnapper felt the need to kill her guard when she was willing to live with another man. Dev should consider choosing a more mature storyline for his next co-production. See more 11/14/2021 If you are making a movie with actors like Dev Patel and Radhika Apte, you need to have a better and well-written story. If it weren't for these actors, the movie would have been half its current ratings everywhere online. See more 09/07/2021 Michael Winterbottom's films range from the sublime (2002's extraordinary 24 Party People) to the final-nail-in-the-coffin dull (2004's boring as sin 9 Songs). The best way to approach his latest, is to go in knowing next to nothing. With no context given, we see Dev Patel preparing a trip somewhere, packing the usual passport, clothes, toiletries, combined with some items that the average one of us wouldn't usually think about taking abroad. Duck tape and zip wires for example. It becomes apparent that Patel's Jay has been hired by someone to kidnap a girl on the eve of her wedding in Younganabad in Pakistan. The Wedding Guest is only ninety minutes long, and Winterbottom initially sets it up like a thriller, and sets it up extremely well for that matter. The opening half is absolutely gripping and Patel proves once more his ability for something completely different. Not only has he mastered the good side of a character (Hotel Mumbai [2018]) as well as proving his comedy chops in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), here he shows the flip side of the coin. If not an out and out bad guy, Jay is clearly conflicted; he knows the difference between right and wrong and although his coldness early on is impressive in its mentality, his arc shows a melting of that initial hardness in a stirring fashion. Frustratingly Winterbottom loses focus in the final third, fracturing sight of what he wants the film to be. The Wedding Guest works so well when it poses as a thriller, much less so when he turns it into a partial romantic drama. The film ends up forcing you to buy into an ending you simply can't believe Jay not being wary of, and it almost feels like there must be a part II that you're awaiting. Sadly, that's not the case, but The Wedding Guest is at least two thirds of a very solid thriller, with another superb turn from Dev Patel. See more 09/06/2021 Amazing movie love the cinematography See more 08/02/2021 Boring, no plot twists, nothing clever, literally nothing to like See more Read all reviews
The Wedding Guest

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Movie Info

Synopsis Jay is a man with a secret who travels from Britain to Pakistan to attend a wedding - armed with duct tape, a shotgun, and a plan to kidnap the bride-to-be. Despite his cold efficiency, the plot quickly spirals out of control, sending Jay and his hostage on the run across the border and through the railway stations, back alleys, and black markets of New Delhi - as all the while attractions simmer, loyalties shift, and explosive secrets bubble to the surface.
Director
Michael Winterbottom
Producer
Melissa Parmenter, Deepak Nayar, Nik Bower
Screenwriter
Michael Winterbottom
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Revolution Films
Rating
R (Language|Brief Nudity|Some Violence)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 1, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 25, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$385.2K
Runtime
1h 34m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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