WONDER WHEEL Review

BREAKING BED 

Wonder Wheel (2017) 

A Review By Ben Hunter

4½ Out Of 5 Stars 

GET TO THE POINT BEN! 

Welcome back Woody. Midnight In Paris was a long time ago. 

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 “I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought. So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” -T.S. Elliot

In the calm of nothing, with the eagerness to continue as we were, that’s when the new become present. The realness of life is then a youthful energy and the new is not only present but a gleaming unusual. We become happy with structure but embrace the change. And life then no longer feels like a frightening dark hole we’ve sunk into, for rushing off into the sunset as a young infidel with no plans thinking that was a good thing. And life doesn’t feel like a frightening dark hole we’ve sunk into, for becoming stuck in our ways. Too focused on having a plan, for fear of becoming lost in that sunset we rushed off into as a young infidel, fearing to become old and stuck in our ways. 

Carolina (Juno Temple) arrives at the wonder wheel in Coney Island, escaping her troubles. 

Coney Island, NY, 1950’s, Mickey (Justin Timberlake) is a young lifeguard on the crowded summer beaches who narrates us through the story of how he came across Ginny (Kate Winslet). Ginny is a middle aged housewife who finally learned to love when it was too late. She ruined her previous marriage for the temptation of future enticements. Now with a mischievous son, she feels stuck inside her present marriage when Humpty (Jim Belushi) took interest some years ago. 

Unhappy, Ginny finds herself into more unnecessary trouble when Humpty’s grown daughter Carolina (Juno Temple) comes back home from an unfruitful marriage. One to a gangster who made her a marked woman when things went awry. With nowhere to turn, Carolina comes home to daddy when, “I told you so” doesn’t even come close to how he feels. 

Dealing with the chaos of the father daughter relationship, on top of the unsatisfactory of her marriage, Ginny naturally accepts the advances of Mickey the lifeguard when he takes interest in a vulnerable, older woman. Of course this brings Ginny temporary relief, but as problems arise with her son and step daughter, the lies are hard to be rescued from, brilliantly portrayed from Winslet. So take the weight of all of this placed on her chest and then add on the fact that Mickey starts to take interest in a more healthy relationship for him, Carolina. Enjoy your emotionally filled carbonara pasta! 

The temporary relief of sinful feeling. 

Woody Allen is back with a nicely sautéed 1950's entree that could perfectly be suitable for the silver screen as well as the theater stage just as well, typically notable from Woody. The work done by this ensemble caught my attention this go round as Woody’s been hitting foul balls for awhile now. Cate Blanchett’s performance in Blue Jasmine (2013) was worthy of the awards recognition she received, for the movie felt like a suitable bed for such performance … until the bed breaks in the end, failing to keep one asleep. Wonder Wheel is no consideration for the honeymoon consummation of Prince Harry & Megan Markle, but it won’t break on you either when you’re finishing up that much needed REM cycle. That section of the night where if awoken, your entire tomorrow is ruined. 

This is because the film is carried by the veteran actors of Jim Belushi and more importantly Kate Winslet. She carries this story. Her worries, her hopes, and fears all present and on display to clearly let us know what her motivations are and why she does what she does. Belushi’s strong performance plays well off of this, garnering a firm foundation for the bed not to break during that crucial moment in the night. 

What gives me slight pause is Timberlake’s performance. It isn’t atrocious. From previous work I know he’s a decent actor. But in the presence of an A-lister as Winslet (which I find it extremely odd who’s billed last in this credit line up), there was one scene in particular that shined light on the rest of his scenes in the film in a dimmer light. Catering the feelings of “another celebrity turned actor taking away work from much more deserving and worthy actors just looking for an opportunity to try”, when he very well could’ve been shown favor simply because of his fame from music not because he was the best acting choice. Arguably my biggest problem with Hollywood. Even if this isn’t the case, his acting somewhat marginally brought this to mind to consider a possibility. 

Hi Carolina, meet Mickey, but don't fall in love with him ... because I have. 

I wanted more justice for Juno Temple’s situation. Had this been cleared up to wholly bring the cows home in great fashion, I’d be inclined to score this film perfectly, even with Timberlake’s performance in mind. But the bed didn’t break, it kept me unconscious through that crucial moment in the night and successfully gives me the strength to take on the next day. So I’m not upset about this. Hopefully this will FINALLY give Temple’s career that boost it deserves as Woody’s work has previously done for the likes of Scarlett Johansson. Fingers cross Juno doesn’t pretty much throw it all away by jumping off the deep end like Scarlett has. 

So even if it is just in my book, it feels nice to say Woody’s made something profound again. 

Wonder Wheel (2017)

Drama, 141 Minutes, PG-13

Written & Directed By: Woody Allen

Cast: Jim Belushi, Juno Temple, Justin Timberlake, & Kate Winslet