MIFF 2026 Review: Wishful Thinking

Sparks fly between Maya Hawke and Lewis Pullman in this fantasy romcom screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival, reports Alex De Paulis.

On the final night of the 2026 Melbourne Film Festival, a large crowd tracked down the elusive Village Cinemas, in the heart of Crown Casino, to gather for Graham Parkes’ debut feature, Wishful Thinking.

The film follows Charlie (Lewis Pullman) a struggling musician and Julia (Maya Hawke) also struggling as a game designer. The characters are a longtime couple who are experiencing a rough patch and begrudgingly attend a relationship seminar held by identical twin gurus. Strangely both named Tillie. Stay with me now. Charlie and Julia experience a supernatural moment of clarity sitting back-to-back on stage. They receive the verdict that they are each other’s ‘Twin Flames’ - said to be a dangerously powerful combination and a rarity in today’s world.

After leaving the relationship seminar, they slowly realise that their mood and the status of their relationship affects the world around them. Everything from the health of their house plants, to accidentally creating a natural disaster in the remote island nation of Mom Bati.

MIFF film, Wishful Thinking, stars Lewis Pullman and Maya Hawke

Despite its fantastical elements, the film is mature enough to show the honest arguments of a flawed couple that can go from zero to 100, and back to zero again.

Hawke (Stranger Things and daughter of Oscar-nominated actor Ethan Hawke) and Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick) deliver stellar performances with Pullman taking the mantle after working on short films with Parkes in the pasttogether. Hawke has already featured in the rom-com space prominently this year in the 2026 hit, One Night Only.

The cast is rounded out by Randall Park playing an against-type demanding boss and for the occasional doom-scroller, there were familiar faces such as TikTok’s Jake Shane (@octopusslover8), playing best buddy to Hawke’s Julia; Instagram skit-maker Kyle Chase (@kylefornow) as Hawke’s former flame and Jon Hamm, the Mad Men actor, playing himself as a recurring inside joke for the couple.

The plot is peppered with topical details and deals with a lot of uniquely 2020s topics, without feeling unnatural or out of touch. Things like a morally questionable AI pineapple music video, a realistic portrayal of a game designer and the first time I can remember seeing a vape on the big screen.

It was really one for the scrapbook.

Pullman and Hawke have an amazing chemistry, being able to quickly switch from unflappable lovebirds to fundamentally opposed factions. They perform in these organic unbroken takes with arguments playing out like a stage play.

Charlie and Julia know that when things are good between them, magical things can happen. But the immediate fireworks when they kiss, are often followed by a torrential downpour when they desperately try to control everything. No rom-com is complete without it bucketing down at least once. However, the film makes it work by showcasing the restorative power of a spontaneous dance, with a fantastic needle drop of Thompson Twins’ ‘Hold Me Now’ in the pouring rain.

This is a film about appreciating the beautiful moments when you’re with someone who can bring out the best and the worst in you.

This movie has jokes in all the right places and the laugh-to-cry ratio was perfect for a rollercoaster film about twin flames and duality. One of the funniest recurring bits was a cryptocurrency called CreamCoin. It was used as a metric for their relationship’s status, depending on the coin’s value in the market; smart but stupid, in the best way possible.

Wishful Thinking is a film that, on paper, could seem generic and blasé but in the hands of a filmmaker like Parkes, imbues the film with a fresh modern sensibility that balances the comedic highs and dramatic lows. It’s also worth noting that the festival screening was introduced by the film’s composer, Melbourne-born Oliver Lewin, whose score reflects a close relationship with the director after moving to the U.S. where they met as childhood friends.

The film had the audience spellbound as it put a spotlight on the kind of connection between two people that is rarely seen on screen. Leaving the cinema, you’re left with a warm buzz. An older couple held hands and nudged just a little closer together as they left. This was a good movie.

5 out of 5.

Release: Valentine’s Day in the U.S., more updates to come on potential Australian release.