Wish You Were Here

Emily Lloyd coming-of-age in early 50’s Britain

A precocious teen in a seaside town of southern England becomes aware of her power over males while flouting conventions, which doesn’t help her relationship with her rigid father (Geoffrey Hutchings) and keeps getting her in trouble, which she finds amusing.

"Wish You Were Here" (1987) is a period piece and coming-of-age flick. It’s been listed as a comedy, but it’s not. It’s a drama with humorous touches counterbalanced by the hard facts of life. The meshing of lighthearted bits with sober elements is interesting and true-to-life.

Emily was only 16 years-old during shooting while one of the guys she is drawn to, Tom Bell (Eric), was 53. It’s no surprise that she’s drawn to someone her dad’s age because she’s desperately seeking a father’s love, despite her outward spunk.

I don’t take the movie as supporting any particular issue, but rather as a character study of a certain type of person, in this case a female. It’s also a commentary on society’s curious mores at that particular time and place. What’s an individualistic person to do, especially when s/he sees glaring hypocrisies and injustices?

Don’t despise the girl for the questionable things she does. Remember, she’s only like 16-17. We’ve all done rash, foolish or disrespectful things in our teens. Then we grew up. I’m pretty sure that Lynda will be growing up real quick by the end of the film.

The title seems odd and probably kept it from greater success. It refers to the protagonist missing her mother, who died when she was 11. She was close to her mom, but obviously not her dad.

It runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in Worthing and nearby Bognor Regis (to the west), which are about an 85-minute drive due south of London.

GRADE: B-

If you can imagine what Britain was like immediately after the end of WWII, then you can picture the grey and drab world inhabited by the sixteen year old “Lynda” (Emily Lloyd) who lives with her dad and younger sister. Her mum died many years earlier leaving her to develop quite a few of the traits more readily attributed to men. She swears like a trooper and when it comes to sex, well she doesn’t intend to let the grass grow. That said, though, after some more routine action with cocky busman “Dave” (Jesse Birdsall) she isn’t remotely prepared for a relationship with a much older friend of her father - “Eric” (Tom Bell), nor for the consequences that ensue for their dalliances. This is one of those observational films that showcases the exuberance and irresponsibility of youth whilst clearly illustrating just how skin deep the faux confidence we probably all exuded at that age actually was. Add to that scenario a rather more responsible sister (Chloe Leland) and a loving but largely out of his depth father (Geoffrey Hutchins) and we see a young girl in the throes of temperamental adolescence that it’s hard not to like nor sympathise with - even if she has a masters degree in vulgarity. It’s an engaging story of humanity, warts and all, with some pretty spot on observations on sexuality, femininity and the mores of a time when it was perfectly acceptable to do as I do, not as I say. Lloyd carries this really quite well. Her joie-de-vivre tempered, gradually, by a sense that she will just have to grow up as best she can and like with so many of that period - as like now - that’s no walk in the park. I did like the conclusion, it rather summed up her situation, attitude and is not a simple sweep under the carpet job. Worth a look.