Film Review – WHAT YOU WISH FOR (2023): Nick Stahl Expertly Curates A Dark And Hyper-Unsettling Dining Experience For The Viewer

What You Wish For Review

What You Wish For (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Nicholas Tomnay, written by Nicholas Tomnay, and starring Nick Stahl, Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez, Penelope Mitchell, Juan Carlos Messier, Brian Groh, Ariel Sierra, and David Tominaga.

It’s safe to say that chefs are having a bit of a moment in film and television. Between the success of 2022’s The Menu and the cultural phenomenon that has become The Bear, cooking, and more importantly, chefs are decidedly in. Writer and director Nicholas Tomnay’s new film, What You Wish For, rides that recent wave of unsettling dining experiences to deliver a fresh movie that zigs when you think it’s going to zag.

The film begins with Ryan (Nich Stahl), who arrives in a South American country to an alarming text message about a gambling debt that he owes. Trouble in paradise? I think so! He’s in town to hang out with an old friend from the states he hasn’t seen in a long time, Jack (Brian Groh). Jack is being put up in a million-dollar jungle villa for a week to prepare a fancy-shmancy dinner for some ultra-wealthy clientele. The two friends enjoy a few days of drinking and exploring the local town while Jack searches for produce and begins gathering supplies for his dinner. Ryan tries to ask Jack about the details of the job or the company he works for but receives only vague answers. One thing is for certain: Jack has been making tons of money, and Ryan is growing more desperate with each passing moment.

This is where the film excels. The dread, the depths of depravity that humans will go to for their own personal gain. It’s all executed beautifully by the weathered and rugged Nick Stahl. You know those actors that you’ve seen in movies over the years and always root for when they pop up onscreen? Nick Stahl is one of those actors for me, and he does a dynamite job in the “stuck between a rock and a hard place” position of Ryan. He wears his hardships in his 5 o’clock shadow and the deep creases of his face. Eyes slack behind heavy eyelids; we hate what he’s doing, but we can’t look away.

Without spoiling too much, Ryan ends up assuming the identity of Jack for the evening in an attempt to gain the money he needs to pay off his gambling debts, and we learn the real reason that people are paying $1.5 million to dine with this company. And it’s not just because the food is really good!

Similar to the rolling landscape that the picture takes place in, this is a film that traverses many peaks and valleys. It twists and turns, never allowing the viewer to get too comfortable with a single character because we don’t know what they will do next. The intensity is felt in silence and accompanied by clean, natural lighting. It’s not a movie that sets out to shock you with gross-out gore or over-the-top violence, but rather to get under your skin in a tactile nature.

Tomnay does a fine job crafting the world of the movie. The characters feel lived in and real, and like a good magician, he is always maneuvering something with his left hand as we stay focused on what he’s doing with his right. There is also a pitch-black tinge of comedy laced through the whole movie. Some scenes we can’t help but laugh at to keep from dealing with the absurdity happening on screen.

If you have been a fan of this chef-centric renaissance bulldozing pop culture, make sure you add What You Wish For to your menu. And cheers to Nick Stahl; let’s hope he continues to get more opportunities to shine with great material like this film.

Rating: 7.5/10

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