The Wedding Guest

Dev Patel, genial star of Slumdog Millionaire and The Personal History of David Copperfield cuts a very different figure here as a man who travels to Pakistan to kidnap a bride at her wedding. The film starts off promisingly as a barebones action thriller, with Patel transforming himself into a mysterious figure with an air of genuine danger. Once the abduction happens, however, the pace slows to a crawl as we are placed inside the minds of the characters. Director Michael Winterbottom becomes overly preoccupied with the psychological angle, but the great performances (Radhika Apte in particular reveals a different take on the stereotypical hostage) and air of mystery means his film at least holds the attention until the end.