The Wheel (2021 film)

Last updated
The Wheel
Directed by Steve Pink
Written by Trent Atkinson
Produced byTrent Atkinson
Taylor Gray
Sean Crampton
Amber Midthunder
Steve Pink
Josh Jason
Molly Gilula
Starring
CinematographyBella Gonzales
Edited byNeal Wynne
Music byMatt Beckley
Production
companies
Hurley/Pickle Productions
Eastern Blocc
Distributed by Quiver Distribution
Release dates
September 13, 2021 (TIFF)
July 22, 2022 (United States)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Wheel is a 2021 American romantic drama film directed by Steve Pink, starring Amber Midthunder, Taylor Gray, Bethany Anne Lind, and Nelson Lee.

Contents

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2021. [1] The film was released in the United States on July 22, 2022. [2] [3]

Reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 32 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beautifully filmed and brought to life by a quartet of fine performances, The Wheel spins a quietly moving story about love and relationships." [4] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times rated the film 3 stars out of 4, writing that "The four main players are all excellent, with Amber Midthunder delivering particularly outstanding work that shows she is a young actor capable of great things." [5] Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times wrote a positive review of the film, writing that "The story ends with an ambitiously staged sequence that reaches for another level of feeling, but it’s hard for anything to match the bruising depiction of Albee and Walker’s rough road to that point." [6]

Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that while the film may not "reinvent the wheel", it "delivers something that nevertheless feels new and surprising". [7] Paul Risker pf PopMatters gave the film a rating of 7 out of 10, writing that "Scars and wounds are scratched at in The Wheel. As uncomfortable as that is, the power of cinema is to tell a story that’s as much about the audience as it is about the characters." [8] Matt Goldberg of Collider gave the film a rating of B, writing that it is "somber, melancholic, sad, sweet, and emotionally jagged in the best way possible." [9] Mae Abdulbaki of Screen Rant rated the film 3 stars out of 5, writing that "in letting the main couple understand, acknowledge, and sit in their feelings — be they hurt, anger, frustration, or loneliness — is when the film is at its best." [10]

Peter Debruge of Variety praised the performances while criticizing Pink's direction, writing that he "shows almost no intuition for how to block or shoot a scene". [11] Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote a mixed review of the film, writing that "for all its formulaic faults, “The Wheel” is unusually astute about the ways some couples avoid the hard truths about each other because they’re afraid of ripping their whole lives apart." [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Mortimer</span> British actress (born 1971)

Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer is a British actress and filmmaker. She began acting in stage productions and has since appeared in several film and television roles. In 2003, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Lovely and Amazing. She is also known for playing Mackenzie McHale in the HBO series The Newsroom (2012–2014). She created and wrote the series Doll & Em (2014–2015) and wrote and directed the miniseries The Pursuit of Love (2021), the latter of which earned her a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress.

William Adam MacDonald is a Canadian actor, writer, and director. He is known for portraying Josh MacIntosh on the CBC show Being Erica, Peter McGregor on Wild Roses, and Detective Steve Peck on Rookie Blue, and for his guest-starring roles in several other shows, including Murdoch Mysteries and Republic of Doyle.

<i>The Brass Teapot</i> 2012 American film

The Brass Teapot is a 2012 American fantasy film directed by Ramaa Mosley. The movie's script was written by Tim Macy, who also wrote the short story on which the movie is based. The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2012, and was released into theaters and video on demand on April 5, 2013.

<i>Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks</i> (film) 2014 film

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks is a 2014 Hungarian-American comedy-drama film starring Gena Rowlands and Cheyenne Jackson alongside a supporting cast including Jacki Weaver, Rita Moreno, Julian Sands and Anthony Zerbe. The film was adapted by Richard Alfieri from his play of the same name and directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman. It was the final film of director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond, who died two years after the film's release in 2016.

<i>Samba</i> (2014 film) 2014 film by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache

Samba is a 2014 French comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. It is their second collaboration with actor Omar Sy following The Intouchables (2012).

<i>Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)</i> 2015 film

Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story) (French: Bang Gang (une histoire d'amour moderne)) is a French drama film directed by Eva Husson. It was shown in the Platform section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It is Husson's directorial debut.

<i>Priceless</i> (2016 film) 2016 film

Priceless is a 2016 American Christian romantic drama film about human trafficking, inspired by true events. It was directed by Ben Smallbone and produced by Steve Barnett with a screenplay by Chris Dowling and Tyler Poelle. Starring singer Joel Smallbone of For King and Country, Bianca Santos, Amber Midthunder, Jim Parrack, and David Koechner, it tells the story of a man who has his life changed when he inadvertently delivers two women into the hands of sex traffickers and resolves to save them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amber Midthunder</span> American actress (born 1997)

Amber Midthunder is an American actress. She is known for her regular roles in the FX series Legion and The CW series Roswell, New Mexico, as well as appearances on Longmire, Banshee, and Reservation Dogs. She starred as Naru in Prey, the fifth installment of the Predator franchise.

<i>The Week Of</i> 2018 American film

The Week Of is a 2018 American comedy film written and directed by Robert Smigel in his feature length directorial debut, and co-written by and starring Adam Sandler. It co-stars Chris Rock, Rachel Dratch, Steve Buscemi, Allison Strong, and Noah Robbins, and follows two fathers the week of the wedding of their children. The film is the fourth collaboration between Sandler and Netflix, and was released on the streaming service on April 27, 2018.

<i>After the Wedding</i> (2019 film) 2019 American film

After the Wedding is a 2019 American drama film written and directed by Bart Freundlich. It is a remake of the Danish-Swedish 2006 film of the same name by Susanne Bier. It stars Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup, and Abby Quinn.

<i>Firecrackers</i> (film) 2018 Canadian film

Firecrackers is a 2018 Canadian drama film written and directed by Jasmin Mozaffari. An expansion of Mozaffari's 2013 short film of the same name, the film stars Michaela Kurimsky and Karena Evans as two teenage girls trying to escape their small town.

<i>Fatima</i> (2020 film) 2020 internationally co-produced English-language film directed by Marco Pontecorvo

Fátima is a 2020 faith-based drama film directed by Marco Pontecorvo. It stars Joaquim de Almeida, Goran Višnjić, Harvey Keitel, Sônia Braga, Stephanie Gil, Alejandra Howard, Jorge Lamelas and Lúcia Moniz.

<i>My Policeman</i> (film) 2022 film by Michael Grandage

My Policeman is a 2022 romantic drama film based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Bethan Roberts and directed by Michael Grandage. The film stars Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, and Rupert Everett. It is inspired by the relationship between the writer E.M. Forster and Bob Buckingham.

<i>Prey</i> (2022 film) 2022 film by Dan Trachtenberg

Prey is a 2022 American science fiction action film in the Predator franchise. It is the fifth film in the mainline series and seventh in the overall franchise. It is a prequel to the first four films, being set in the Northern Great Plains in 1719. The film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg and written by Patrick Aison. It stars Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Michelle Thrush, Stormee Kipp, Julian Black Antelope, and Bennett Taylor. The story revolves around a young Comanche woman, Naru, who is striving to prove herself as a hunter. She finds herself having to protect her people from a vicious, humanoid alien that hunts humans for sport, as well as from French fur traders who are destroying the buffalo they rely on for survival.

<i>Women Talking</i> (film) 2022 film by Sarah Polley

Women Talking is a 2022 drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley. Based on the Canadian 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, itself inspired by the gas-facilitated rapes that occurred at the Manitoba Colony, a remote and isolated Mennonite community in Bolivia, the film follows a group of American Mennonite women who discuss their future, following their discovery of the men's history of raping the colony's women. It features an ensemble cast that includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand, who also served as a producer on the film.

<i>They/Them</i> (film) 2022 American film by John Logan

They/Them is a 2022 American slasher film written and directed by John Logan, in his feature directorial debut, and produced by Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner. It stars Theo Germaine, Carrie Preston, Anna Chlumsky, Austin Crute, Quei Tann, Anna Lore, Cooper Koch, Monique Kim, Darwin del Fabro, Hayley Griffith, Boone Platt, Mark Ashworth, and Kevin Bacon, and follows a group of LGBTQ teens and a masked killer at a conversion camp.

<i>Dream Scenario</i> 2023 film by Kristoffer Borgli

Dream Scenario is a 2023 American black comedy fantasy film written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli. It is produced by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg banner, alongside Nicolas Cage, Jacob Jaffke, and Tyler Campellone. It stars Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a mild-mannered biology professor who begins appearing in the dreams of others.

<i>Seriously Red</i> 2022 film by Gracie Otto

Seriously Red is a 2022 Australian romantic comedy film directed by Gracie Otto, starring Krew Boylan, Daniel Webber, Celeste Barber, Thomas Campbell, Todd Lasance, Jean Kittson, Bobby Cannavale and Rose Byrne.

Centurion: The Dancing Stallion is a 2023 American drama film written by Boon Collins, directed by Dana Gonzales and starring Amber Midthunder, Aramis Knight, Patricia de Leon, Sal Lopez and Billy Zane, who served as co-executive producer. Rob Schneider served as an executive producer of the film.

Daddio is a 2023 American drama film written and directed by Christy Hall in her feature directorial debut. It stars Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn.

References

  1. ↑ Grater, Tom (9 September 2021). "'The Wheel' First Clip: Toronto Drama Comes From 'Hot Tub Time Machine' Director Steve Pink". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  2. ↑ Lang, Brent (22 June 2022). "Quiver Distribution Buys Relationship Drama 'The Wheel' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Mishra, Shrishty (23 June 2022). "'The Wheel': Steve Pink's Festival Favorite Sets Summer Release Date". Collider . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "THE WHEEL". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Roeper, Richard (22 July 2022). "'The Wheel' spins the story of a trip that could make or break a marriage". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Rapold, Nicolas (21 July 2022). "'The Wheel' Review: Songs of Love and Hate". The New York Times . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  7. ↑ Han, Angie (12 September 2021). "'The Wheel': Film Review [TIFF 2021]". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  8. ↑ Risker, Paul (17 September 2021). "TIFF 2021: STEVE PINK'S 'THE WHEEL' SCRATCHES AT LOVE'S WOUNDS". PopMatters . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  9. ↑ Goldberg, Matt (12 September 2021). "'The Wheel' Review: Director Steve Pink Skillfully Explores a Relationship on the Brink of Destruction [TIFF 2021]". Collider . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  10. ↑ Abdulbaki, Mae (12 September 2021). "TIFF Review: The Wheel Explores Relationship Drama With Depth & Tenderness". Screen Rant . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  11. ↑ Debruge, Peter (22 July 2022). "'The Wheel' Review: A Young Couple Give Themselves One Last Weekend to Save Their Relationship". Variety . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  12. ↑ Murray, Noel (22 July 2022). "Review: The doc days of summer feature 'Aftershock,' GWAR, Don McLean and Nolan Ryan". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.