Wonder Wheel-2017
Director Woody Allen
Starring Kate Winslet, Jim Belushi
Scott’s Review #709
Reviewed December 31, 2017
Grade: B+
Woody Allen typically releases a new film each year, and 2017’s project is Wonder Wheel.
Set in 1950s Coney Island, a seaside beach in Brooklyn, New York, the film is an authentic-looking period drama, with lovely costumes and legitimate New York accents from all principal actors.
The story is pretty depressing, though, as a likable character is tough to find. However, Wonder Wheel contains fantastic acting, mainly on the part of star Kate Winslet, whose troubled character is the film’s focal point.
Winslet portrays Ginny Rannell, a struggling forty-year-old woman living in the seaside neighborhood and working as a waitress at a dingy Clam House. She despises her life and longs for a way out of the doldrums, yearning for the life she had years ago as an aspiring actress.
Her husband, Humpty (Jim Belushi), a carousel operator, has alcoholism. Together they raise Ginny’s son, Richie, a young boy who loves to start fires.
When Humpty’s estranged daughter, Carolina (Juno Temple), shows up on their doorstep, having provided information about her mobster husband, and subsequently “marked”, Ginny’s life slowly begins to unravel as she and Carolina pursue the same man, hunky lifeguard, Mickey (Justin Timberlake).
The film’s New York setting is an enormous plus and a standard of many Woody Allen films—the authenticity is apparent. The summer mood of the beach, sand, sunny boardwalk and beach scenes make the viewer feel transported in time.
The 1950s period worked as beachwear, and the amusement park sets were used to their advantage. The actors’ New York accents and the language and sayings are appropriate for the times.
The apartment that the Rannells rent is an excellent treat to the film. The set features a wonderful beach landscape during daytime and nighttime scenes so that the mood change can be noticed—these are all enticing elements to Wonder Wheel.
Enough cannot be said for Winslet’s talents, who make the character of Ginny come to life.
Undoubtedly a tough role for her to play, Winslet, who can make reading the phone book sound interesting, tackles the complex part and arguably gives one of the best performances of her career—my vote would still go to her portrayal of Hannah Schmitz from 2008’s The Reader.
Initially a sympathetic character, she longingly desires to return to the stage and perhaps find stardom as an actress and sees Mickey as her last chance. When events curtail her dreams, her character takes a sharp turn and does an unspeakable act.
I love Justin Timberlake’s acting talents. By 2017, he had successfully proven himself a major star in both the film and music worlds.
As the hunky, charismatic, yet studious and intelligent lifeguard, Mickey, he teeters between womanizer and earnest, love-stricken, young man.
Timberlake has taken on more interesting film roles beginning with the 2010s, The Social Network, and let’s hope there are more to come.
Juno Temple is just perfect as the naive Carolina. With an innocent, sweet personality, she yearns for love and a fresh start. Temple, known mainly for quirky independent film roles, fits a Woody Allen creation perfectly.
Finally, legendary actor James Belushi fills his character of Humpty with dedication, loyalty, and alcoholic rage. He adores Ginny but sometimes takes her for granted.
What a treat for fans of The Sopranos to see a couple of familiar faces appear as (what else?) mobsters. Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa make cameo appearances as Angelo and Nick, henchmen for Carolina’s unseen husband, who is intent on tracking down and killing her.
Despite minimal parts, the actors seem to have a ball reprising similar roles that made them famous.
Wonder Wheel, shot in a similar tone to a stage production, draws comparisons to A Streetcar Named Desire, both with four principal characters- two male and two female, Ginny, Carolina, Mickey, and Humpty, all with some similarities to and some differences with storied characters Blanche, Stella, Stanley, and Mitch.
However, the comparisons can easily be studied and analyzed.
Woody Allen creates a film that can be appreciated chiefly for its top-notch acting talent, which is not surprising given the actor’s cast, and it is a compelling, never boring story.
The film is a downer, however, with no heroic characters. Thankfully, this is counterbalanced perfectly by a great New York setting, which is a high point of Wonder Wheel (2017) and cheers up the otherwise dour tone of the film.
