Assuming someone else’s identity is always going to be a slippery slope, even on foreign soil.
We meet a chef with a gambling addiction who has fled his homeland, only to become embroiled in something far darker in a remote part of South America.
Nick Stahl plays our lead, who after taking a chance to secure his future, takes on preparing and cooking meals without knowing what was on the menu.
There are winks to films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley for the identity motif, with a sprinkle of Hulu’s recent feature The Menu and add into that commentary around elitism and you have the dish that is What You Wish For.
Stahl is an unconventional leading man, as anyone who has seen Terminator 3 can attest to, but his off-kilter protagonist is flawed but oddly compelling.
He has a decision when he gets in with the sharks, he can either try and swim with them or be devoured piece by piece. I will let you watch to see what his choice is…
What You Wish For is a careful lesson that riffs on its title but cleverly subverts from the established route to give us something weird and compelling.
What You Wish For screens as part of Grimmfest 2023.
Bloody Flicks 