Wish You Were Here (1987 film)
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| Wish You Were Here | |
|---|---|
 "Wish You Were Here" (DVD) |
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| Directed by | David Leland |
| Produced by | Sarah Radclyffe |
| Written by | David Leland |
| Starring | See below |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Cinematography | Ian Wilson |
| Editing by | George Akers |
| Distributed by | Atlantic Releasing Corp |
| Release date(s) | July 24, 1987 (USA) |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Wish You Were Here is a 1987 British drama/comedy film starring Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell. The film was written and directed by David Leland. The original music score was composed by Stanley Myers.
Rating: R (Adult Situations/Not For Children/Adult Language). Running Time: 92 minutes.
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[edit] Plot summary
15-year-old Lynda Mansell (Emily Lloyd) lives in a small English seaside town in the early 1950s. She is feisty and precocious and always shocks other people with her vulgar and saucy tongue (her favorite insult is "Up yer bum"). Bored with conventional jobs and her town's dull young men, Lynda has her first sexual experience with the babbitt Dave (Jesse Birdsall) but after she has slept with one of her father's middle-aged friends (Tom Bell), her life changes. She becomes pregnant and her father, a somewhat rigid and conventional man, disowns her. Desperately she tries to abort the child but in the end decides to became a mother.
Wish you were here is a sigh Lynda makes because of her dead mother, who understood her and protected her from her intolerant father. Beneath her cheeky exterior, Lynda is a vulnerable girl who seeks for love and a place in life, and she lives in a time where it was difficult for teenagers like her to do these in their own way.
This movie was based loosely on the memoirs of the British madam Cynthia Payne as a teenager.
[edit] Trivia
- World Premiere: 13 May 1987 Cannes Film Festival
- David Leland's daughters Abigail and Chloe have played Lynda's sister Margaret.
- Emily Lloyd's younger sister Charlotte Ball has played the 11 year old Lynda.
- Actor Tom Bell has also played in movies with Roger Lloyd Pack (in Preaching to the Perverted) and Charles Lloyd Pack (in The Kitchen), the father and grandfather of Emily Lloyd.
- Actress Charlotte Barker is the daughter of comedy actor Ronnie Barker.
- The previous working title was Too Much.
- Actor Heathcote Williams, who portrayed Dr. Holroyd in this film, is the ex-husband of writer Polly Samson, who is currently married to David Gilmour, the guitarist for the band Pink Floyd, who released an album titled Wish You Were Here in 1975.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 1987: Evening Standard British Film Awards Emily Lloyd for Best Actress
- 1987: National Society of Film Critics Emily Lloyd for Best Actress
- 1988: BAFTA Award David Leland for Best Screenplay
- 1988: BAFTA Award Nomination Best Actress
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Emily Lloyd | Lynda Mansell |
| Tom Bell | Eric |
| Jesse Birdsall | Dave |
| Clare Clifford | Mrs. Parfitt |
| Barbara Durkin | Valerie |
| Geoffrey Hutchings | Hubert Mansell |
| Charlotte Barker | Gillian |
| Chloe Leland | Margaret |
| Charlotte Ball | Lynda (aged 11) |
| Pat Heywood | Aunt Millie |
| Abigail Leland | Margaret (aged 7) |
| Geoffrey Durham | Harry Figgis |
| Neville Smith | Cinema Manager |
| Heathcote Williams | Dr. Holroyd |
| Val McLane | Maisie Mathews |
| Susan Skipper | Lynda's Mother |
| Lee Whitlock | Brian |
| Sheila Kelley | Joan Figgis |
