It’s hard to review Wonder Wheel without referring to Mia Farrow’s allegations about her ex-husband Woody Allen. Although long-standing and previously demonstrated to have no proof, the general consensus seems to be – somehow in connection with the scandals involving Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey etc. – the veteran film maker is now disgraced and this may well be the last film he will get distributed.
If that is the case, then it is a shame this entry in his patchy late period can be considered an interesting experiment, but not a total success.
Set in Coney Island in the 1950s, it stars Kate Winslet as Ginny. She is making a living as a waitress and is in an unhappy marriage with Humpty (Jim Belushi). She begins an affair with a young lifeguard, Mickey (Justin Timberlake) and starts to dream of a life with him; a dream he does not share.
Mickey is an aspiring playwright, and in a key moment at the start of the film, seems to suggest the action that is to follows has been created by him. This begins to make sense as the movie unfolds as it has a real staginess, especially in the scenes set in Humpty and Ginny’s apartment.
The characters tend to have as many long speeches as they do natural conversations and most of the performances are more over-the-top than you normally see on the cinema screen. When gangsters appear searching for Humpty’s daughter, Carolina (Juno Temple), they feel more like hoodlums invented by someone who has no connection with their world and do not have any menace, despite being played by the estimable Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa.
References are dropped to Eugene O’Neil, but with the steamy summer setting and the sexual desires of an older woman, I was reminded more of Tennessee Williams and A Streetcar Named Desire in particular. Whilst I admired Allen’s intentions, the problem is that the style of the film is a little alienating.
However, thanks to Juno Temple, who eschews the theatrics of her colleagues, I did gradually get drawn into the story. Aside from Temple, Winslet is impressive but Timberlake is horribly miscast as the Woody Allen substitute character. David Krumholtz makes a brief appearance as Mickey’s friend and would have been better in his part.
As with the superior Cafe Society, Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography is a treat and Temple is outstanding but otherwise this is ultimately an interesting failure.
Rating: 6 out of 10