What You Wish For
A desperate chef's escape from gambling debt becomes a nightmarish performance of stolen identity, criminal hospitality, and culinary danger.
Overview
A desperate chef's escape leads him into a deadly game of deception and identity.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- tense
- eerie
- grimly ironic
- late night thriller viewing
- dark movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly find the film an effective, unsettling indie thriller led by Nick Stahl, though its story and pacing receive some reservations.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Ryan flees gambling debt and assumes the identity of another chef, making impersonation the engine of the plot.
Ryan's professional cooking and the villa's dinner culture are directly tied to the film's disturbing criminal stakes.
The Latin American villa concentrates Ryan among guests, secrets, and investigative danger.
Ryan's gambling problems and debt motivate his flight and subsequent identity theft.
Films like What You Wish For, and why
The Talented Mr. Ripley
shared identity theft, moral compromise, darkly comic tension, and escalating thriller suspense
The Menu
shared chef-centered menace, claustrophobic social performance, and disturbing culinary subject matter
A Simple Plan
shared desperate protagonist, criminal entanglement, and grimly ironic thriller atmosphere
The Passenger
shared stolen identity, psychological suspense, and morally compromised outsider protagonist
Movie Details
- Director
- Nicholas Tomnay
- Release Date
- 2024-05-31
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (194)
Cast
- Nick Stahl
- Tamsin Topolski
- Randy Vasquez
- Penelope Mitchell
- Brian Groh
- Juan Carlos Messier
- Ariel Sierra
- Greg Winter
- Juan Pablo Solano
- Laure Stockley
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Hulu
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is What You Wish For about?
- A desperate chef's escape from gambling debt becomes a nightmarish performance of stolen identity, criminal hospitality, and culinary danger.
- What is What You Wish For like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of What You Wish For as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is What You Wish For violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in What You Wish For as graphic.
- What did critics think of What You Wish For?
- Critics broadly find the film an effective, unsettling indie thriller led by Nick Stahl, though its story and pacing receive some reservations.
- Which films are like What You Wish For?
- Films with a similar feel include The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Menu, A Simple Plan, and The Passenger.
- How long is What You Wish For?
- What You Wish For runs 102 minutes.
- Where can I watch What You Wish For?
- In United States, What You Wish For streams on Hulu.
