Review of Wonder Wheel (2017) by Glenn G — 21 Dec 2017

PHONY ISLAND - My Review of WONDER WHEEL (2 Stars).

The beautifully shot bad movie is nothing new in the world of cinema. This year alone yielded THE SNOWMAN, MOTHER!, and BEFORE I FALL, all pretty terrible films with generous amounts of visual interest. Regrettably, Woody Allen's latest falls into this category, making me wonder why Amazon Studios didn't agree to a deal where they only finance every third movie of this once brilliant but too-prolific filmmaking.

Set in the 1950s on the Coney Island boardwalk, WONDER WHEEL tells the story of infidelity and betrayal as the titular ferris wheel towering above its characters suffers from decay and financial ruin. The amusement park's a metaphor y'all! Beware the dangers of aging!

Narrated by Mickey (Justin Timberlake), a lifeguard with aspirations of becoming the next Eugene O'Neill and who's having an affair with Ginny (Kate Winslet), a former actress unhappily married to her abusive, drunk, carousel operator husband Humpty (Jim Belushi). Enter Carolina (Juno Temple), Humpty's daughter, to complicate everything even more. She's hiding out from some mobsters and immediately draws Mickey's attention away from the neurotic, unhappy Ginny.

Yes, it's a soap opera storyline which forces its characters to make tough moral decisions. As such, it's hopelessly flat, and with the exception of Winslet, feels like a high school play. It's a poor man's DEATH OF A LONG DAY'S MARTY ON A HOT TIN ROOF COMETH INTO NIGHT. But, it's so gorgeously shot by the legendary Vittorio Storaro (APOCALYPSE NOW) and features a wonderfully complex performance by Winslet, that the film has some merit despite being a joyless suckfest.

With the help of composite shots and CGI, Allen and Storaro get the most out of their setting, with our main characters literally living across the street from the giant ferris wheel. The beaches, the boardwalk and its Brooklyn streets play out in a technicolor dreamscape, making this one of Allen's most visually wonderful films. I could watch Juno Temple enter the film by strolling up onto the boardwalk all day on a loop and be perfectly fine.

Winslet's Ginny oozes unhappiness from every pore, whether she's sparring with Humpty, questioning her affair with Mickey, or fending off the pyromaniacal tendencies of her young son Richie (Jack Gore). You get the sense that she'd gladly crack a smile if the entire human race didn't constantly disappoint her. As a shield to all the crushing defeats in her way, she has learned the art of the lie , often hiding it behind lashing out at anyone in her path. She's a trapped animal and never less than fascinating. It's a shame she's stuck in something so lifeless.

The film also gets major points deductions for putting the wonderful Debi Mazar in it but barely giving her a line of dialogue or anything more than a profile in a wide shot. The world needs more Debi Mazar, more of her New York voice and Siberian Husky eyes, and Woody just squandered this resource. I'm considering legal action.

Still, Woody Allen has something to say. He's drawn to the horrible things people will do to achieve their own bliss in life. Trouble is, he's covered this territory before, and with much better results in such films as CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. There's even a callback to "the heart wants what the heart wants" themes of HANNAH AND HER SISTERS. Also, am I the only one struck by the somewhat icky fact that Mickey pursues someone else's wife AND step-daughter? At 82, Allen's clearly still working things out. I only wish he would slow down his process before releasing so many first drafts onto the public. But "the writer wants what the writer wants" I suppose.