Review of Wonder Wheel (2017) by Ming Siu G — 26 Feb 2018

#WoodyAllenRetro Podcast Project.

Wonder Wheel is a great character drama that can feel more like a television play than a traditional Woody featur film and thats not exactly a bad thing. Stellar performances by Kate Winslet and Jim Belushi. Timberlake has improved since his other... middling performances and Juno Temple is quite good. The story itself is kind of drab and gets a bit more bleak as the movie progresses but again it's all about the performances and character interactions here. The technicolour cinematography is GORGEOUS and brings a new and welcome flair to set this apart from Woody's others. In total this is a GOOD film - it can feel a bit long in the tooth and Timberlake botches his final confrontation scene which is a big shame but the overall drama is pretty well cooked and the ending may leave some feeling miffed and not so chipper but we love it when Woody gives us a more realistic outcome in this genre. We don't think this is as accessible as his others in recent years but it fits right in line with his 80's dramas and we do have a sweet spot for that era in Woody's filmography.