There are a lot of divisive comments one can say towards Woody Allen’s personal life, but if one were to look at him from a filmmaking standpoint: he is someone that is definitely influential. For over forty years, Allen has written and directed some of the classics or future classics that have given critics and audiences a sense of awe.
It leaves me riveted that the Jewish-filmmaker keeps going by releasing a new film every year. While his latest haven’t been the brightest of his career, they still find ways to leave people intrigued wanting more of Allen’s style (whether it’s in front or behind the camera) and "Wonder Wheel" was definitely one that had me interested from day one. However, it breaks me to say that it is one of the weaker Allen films I’ve seen, as well as one of 2017’s biggest disappoints.
With a cast like Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake heading a film set in 1950s Coney Island, there was a lot of optimistic qualities going towards "Wonder Wheel" and somehow Woody Allen fails to capture integument for the audience watching his latest film.
Winslet and Jim Belushi are a married couple named Ginny and Humpty, with the latter being a carousel operator and the former has begun to lose interest in her sober husband after falling for a lifeguard named Mickey, played by Timberlake.
When things couldn’t get just as crazy for everyone around, Humpty’s daughter from a previous marriage, Carolina (Juno Temple), shows up looking to hide after being hunted by the mob. Shortly afterward, Carolina begins to grow feelings toward Mickey, as he’s seeing Ginny: thus creating a love triangle, which is the film’s major throwaway. It is very difficult to pull off compelling love triangles in films and this one is so melodramatic, that it was hard to not laugh at times.
The dialogue was unbearably hallow and there was never a moment of feeling any sympathy towards any character, even Humpty, who is probably the most redeemable character in the film. A lot of people that have watched "Wonder Wheel" as being a possible personal story for Allen to tell, but that does not change the fact of it being one of the worst things he has attached his name to.
Mickey is the film’s narrator and there would be like a lot of times where Allen and editor Alisa Lepselter would cut back to him at the oddest times, which caused a lot of head shaking throughout the 101-minute-long running time. Speaking of the running time, "Wonder Wheel" was at a snail’s pace and considering this is shorter than a lot of the award season films: it doesn’t change the fact of being dreadfully boring and gruesome to sit through without expressing dissatisfaction.
Kate Winslet does save the film from being the absolute disaster that it was close of becoming, as she gives one of the finest performances of his career. While the character of Ginny isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, Winslet does what she can with the mediocre writing/direction from Woody Allen.
Jim Belushi also did a strong job here and for someone that hasn’t done as much film work, he really worked here, as did the underrated Juno Temple. However, the weakest link has to be Justin Timberlake, who I respect heavily as an artist. He has given us solid performances in films, such as "The Social Network" and "Inside Llewyn Davis," but the portrayal of Mickey was really wooden and too hammy for my taste. The progression of his both his acting and character got worse as the film went along and that’s depressing considering how excited I was to see him in "Wonder Wheel."
Also, if anyone ever has their film shot by the cinematographer of "Apocalypse Now," then you know you’re in for looking at something gorgeous. The use of orange colors throughout "Wonder Wheel" was a nice choice for both Vittorio Storaro and the gaffing team, as it added to the flawless look of this film. But in the end, no matter if your film is shot by the best cinematographer in the business, you need to find a way to engage your audience through your writing and directing.
This was clearly a misstep for Woody Allen, but that won’t change the fact of him pumping out a new film every year until he passes on. I will always respect him as a filmmaker and the great stuff he has put out over the course of his long career, but "Wonder Wheel" should have been something strong and it failed to captivate me due to the boring screenplay and the execution of the story occurring on screen. Sorry Woody, this wasn’t the masterpiece you were hoping it’d be.
