Wonder Wheel | |
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Directed by | Woody Allen |
Written by | Woody Allen |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Vittorio Storaro |
Edited by | Alisa Lepselter |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Amazon Studios |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $25 million [2] |
Box office | $15.9 million [3] |
Wonder Wheel is a 2017 American period drama film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Kate Winslet, Jim Belushi, Juno Temple, and Justin Timberlake. Set in the early 1950s at an amusement park on Coney Island, the film takes its title from the park's Ferris wheel. The story follows the second wife and the estranged daughter of a carousel operator as they both pursue affairs with a lifeguard. [4]
The film served as the closing night selection at the 55th New York Film Festival on October 14, 2017, [5] and was released on December 1, 2017, by Amazon Studios. [6] The film received mixed reviews, with criticism for Allen's screenplay, but widespread praise for Winslet's performance and Vittorio Storaro's cinematography.
Mickey Rubin, a Coney Island lifeguard who aspires to be a playwright like Eugene O'Neill, narrates through the fourth wall. Carolina, the daughter of Humpty Rannell, arrives at the boardwalk looking for Ginny Rannell, her father's second wife who works as a waitress at the clam shack. She begs Ginny to let her live with them, but Ginny leaves it up to Humpty, who angrily kicked her out when she married her mobster boyfriend Frank and threw away her college education and chance for a better life. Carolina tells him she is on the run from Frank, who she believes wants to kill her because she gave evidence of mob activity to the FBI. Humpty lets her stay on the condition that she save money to return to college and better her life. Ginny gets her a waitressing job where she works. Soon, Mobsters Angelo and Nick come around, asking Humpty and Ginny for Carolina, but they deny having seen her and the mobsters leave.
Ginny used to be an actress and was happily married, but her infidelity caused her husband to divorce her. She and Humpty are raising her young son Ritchie, a troubled boy who habitually gets into trouble by setting fires. She is unhappy with Humpty and life on the boardwalk, and begins carrying on an affair with Mickey. Humpty is an angry and loud recovering alcoholic who runs the carousel and goes fishing with his friends to bring home dinner. He finds joy and patience for life with Carolina around, and he pays for her to attend night school.
Mickey is attracted to Ginny's maturity and experience, and views her as a somebody in need of saving. He and Carolina accidentally meet some time later, and he becomes attracted by Carolina's story. He thinks he is in love with her, but is conflicted about his feelings for Ginny. Ginny steals money from Humpty to buy Mickey an expensive watch as a birthday present, which he refuses to accept. By this time, Ginny has become suspicious of Mickey's feelings for Carolina and is jealous.
Mobsters Angelo and Nick come around again, asking the owner of the clam shack about Carolina's whereabouts. Carolina takes Mickey on a date to a Brooklyn pizza parlor, and her boss innocently tells this to Angelo and Nick. Ginny telephones the pizza parlor to warn Carolina but begins to stammer, realizing her opportunity to take Carolina away from Mickey, and hangs up. Mickey tells Carolina the truth about his feelings for her and his affair. Instantly feeling compassion for everyone involved, Carolina walks home alone to process the information and decide what to do, not wanting to hurt Ginny or her father or Mickey. We see Angelo and Nick's car following her as she leaves the pizza parlor.
When Carolina does not come home, Humpty asks Mickey the next day if he saw her after the date. Mickey investigates and learns Ginny called the pizza parlor but did not speak. Piecing it together, he confronts Ginny, who has started drinking and getting made up in one of her glamorous stage costumes. She pulls a knife out of the drawer and asks Mickey to kill her, but he leaves. Humpty comes back, sinking back into alcoholism after the police find no trace of Carolina, and tells Ginny he needs her help again to function in life. He tries to find a positive outlook and invites her to meet his friends' wives on a fishing trip, but she coldly refuses, keeping their life in its rut.
Kate Winslet was the first actor who came on board for the film, in July 2016, [7] [8] followed by Juno Temple and Jim Belushi. [9] Describing the casting process, Allen said, "The first person I cast was Kate Winslet, then I cast a young girl named Juno Temple who I thought very much of," and "I cast Jim Belushi who I thought was absolutely perfect for it." [10] Talking about the film, Winslet – who was previously attached to Allen's 2005 drama film Match Point but left the project to spend more time with her family – said, "I play the lead. My character is called Ginny, and she's a waitress in a clam house ... It was probably like the second most stressful part I've ever played, but the experience itself was just utterly incredible." [11]
Allen later signed Justin Timberlake in the role of a lifeguard, [12] [13] saying that "I was doing this film and I thought, who could I get that would be an interesting guy to play a lifeguard in about 1950? I was sitting and talking with my brain trust. Someone said, 'What about Justin Timberlake?'" [10] On August 19, 2016, Tony Sirico joined the cast. [14] In September 2016, Jack Gore, Steve Schirripa, and Max Casella rounded out the cast of the film. [15] [16] [17]
Principal photography began in Coney Island on September 15, 2016, at Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn around Hudson Avenue and Gold Street. [18]
The film premiered as the closing film of the New York Film Festival on October 14, 2017. It was theatrically released on December 1, 2017, on Allen's 82nd birthday. [6]
Wonder Wheel was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Universal on March 6, 2018, then released on DVD in the UK by Warner Bros. on July 16, 2018. [19]
Wonder Wheel grossed $1.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $14.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $15.9 million. [3] In the United States the film made $125,570 from five theaters in its opening weekend (an average of $25,114), marking a 61% drop from Café Society 's debut the previous year. [20] In France, the film was released on January 31, 2018, and sold 20,147 tickets on its opening day, marking the lowest of any Allen film in over 15 years. [21]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 31% based on 204 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Wonder Wheel gathers a charming cast in an inviting period setting, but they aren't enough to consistently breathe life into a Woody Allen project that never quite comes together." [22] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [23]
Kate Winslet received widespread critical acclaim for her performance. A largely positive review of the film from The Times stated: "Kate Winslet delivers an incendiary performance (easily her best since 2008 in The Reader ), and singled out her "show-stopping monologue about the decline of her marriage and acting career, delivered with a stunning degree of restraint as the camera sits close to her face, illuminated by moonlight and the ocean’s deep-blue glow behind her" as "among the very best moments in her extensive career." [24] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times disliked Allen's writing but credited Winslet for filling her "shabby character with feverish life". [25] Graham Fuller for Screen International wrote a positive review, praising Allen, "It would be going too far to say Wonder Wheel is an instant Woody Allen classic, but it’s a reminder that he’s still a force to be reckoned with and a great director of actresses especially." [26]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave Wonder Wheel three out of four stars, and lauded Winslet's performance, writing "there are valid criticisms of Wonder Wheel as a film that feels more like a stage play – its claustrophobic atmosphere can be stifling. But even covering familiar ground, Allen finds the blunt truth at its core. As Ginny is stripped of her fantasies and exposed to the harsh glare of reality, Winslet stands her ground, as if to say attention must be paid. It should be. Her performance is absolutely astounding." [27] Rex Reed also gave the film three out of four stars, writing "Woody has recreated the nostalgia of the Coney Island he remembers from the 1950s and done for Kate Winslet what he did for Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine —created a colorful visual backdrop for a lusty, multi-faceted performance that prunes away the clutter and leaves you devastated. As the older woman scorned, Kate Winslet is a one-woman gale force. This is her finest, most three-dimensional performance in years." [28]
Vittorio Storaro's cinematography was also singled out for praise. J. R. Jones, writing for the Chicago Reader , stated: "Winslet steals the show as the yearning wife, but the real star is veteran cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. Wait for the video, turn down the volume, and watch the real drama of sunlight flooding a room." [29] Writing for Entertainment Weekly , Chris Nash found the film to be relatively weak, giving it a C− rating and stating, "Coney Island has never looked more gorgeously golden-hued (thanks to cinematographer Vittorio Storaro), but Allen has seldom been less sharp." [30] Leonard Maltin singled out Belushi's performance as "well played" but wrote unfavorably of the film: "Wonder Wheel opens on a high note, with a picture-postcard panorama of Coney Island as it might have looked in a 1950 Kodachrome slide. With Vittorio Storaro behind the camera, this is one of Woody Allen's handsomest productions in years, yet one of his least satisfying." [31]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Alliance of Women Film Journalists | January 10, 2018 | Actress Most in Need of a New Agent A | Kate Winslet | Won | [32] |
Hollywood Film Awards | November 4, 2017 | Hollywood Actress Award | Won | [33] | |
Houston Film Critics Society | January 6, 2018 | Best Cinematography | Vittorio Storaro | Nominated | [34] |
San Francisco Film Critics Circle | December 10, 2017 | Nominated | [35] | ||
St. Louis Film Critics Association | Nominated | [36] |
Notes
Heywood Allen is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many accolades, including the most nominations (16) for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for a Emmy Award and a Tony Award. Allen was awarded an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress. Known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine named Winslet one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2009 and 2021. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2012.
Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begins and ends with a family Thanksgiving dinner. Allen also stars in the film, along with Mia Farrow as Hannah, Michael Caine as her husband, and Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest as her sisters. Alongside them, the film features Carrie Fisher, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Max von Sydow, Daniel Stern, John Turturro, Lewis Black (debut), and Julie Kavner.
Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C., is an Italian cinematographer widely recognized as one of the best and most influential in cinema history, for his work on numerous classic films including The Conformist (1970), Apocalypse Now (1979), and The Last Emperor (1987). In the course of over fifty years, he has collaborated with directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Warren Beatty, Woody Allen and Carlos Saura.
Julianne Nicholson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the film August: Osage County (2013) and the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2006–2009), Masters of Sex (2013–2014), Eyewitness (2016), and Mare of Easttown (2021), the last of which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award.
Woody Allen has acted in, directed, and written many films starting in the 1960s. His first film was the 1965 comedy What's New Pussycat?, which featured him as both writer and performer. Feeling that his New Yorker humor clashed with director Clive Donner's British sensibility, he decided to direct all future films from his own material. He was unable to prevent other directors from producing films based on previous stage plays of his to which he had already sold the film rights, notably 1972's successful film Play it Again, Sam from the 1969 play of the same title directed by Herbert Ross.
Rebecca Maria Hall is an English actress and director. She made her first onscreen appearance at the age of 10 in the 1992 television adaptation of The Camomile Lawn, directed by her father, Sir Peter Hall. Her professional stage debut came in her father's 2002 production of Mrs. Warren's Profession, which earned her the Ian Charleson Award.
The Wonder Wheel is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) eccentric Ferris wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park at Coney Island in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The wheel is located on a plot bounded by West 12th Street to the west, Bowery Street to the north, Luna Park to the east, and the Riegelmann Boardwalk to the south. As with other eccentric Ferris wheels, some of the Wonder Wheel's passenger cabins are not fixed directly to the rim of the wheel, but instead slide along winding sets of rails between the hub and the rim.
Revolutionary Road is a 2008 romantic drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Justin Haythe, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as Frank and April Wheeler, with Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour, and Kathy Bates in supporting roles. Set in the mid-1950s, the Wheelers struggle to cope with their personal problems and the ensuing breakdown in their marriage. Revolutionary Road is the second onscreen collaboration for DiCaprio, Winslet, and Bates, all of whom previously co-starred in 1997's Titanic. The film soundtrack was composed by Thomas Newman, his fourth collaboration with Mendes.
The Reader is a 2008 romantic drama film directed by Stephen Daldry, written by David Hare on the basis of the 1995 novel by Bernhard Schlink, and starring Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Bruno Ganz and Karoline Herfurth.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is an upcoming American epic science fiction film co-produced, co-edited, co-written, and directed by James Cameron. Distributed by 20th Century Studios, it is the sequel to Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and the third installment in the Avatar film series.
Pixar Pal-A-Round is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) eccentric wheel at Disney California Adventure, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The attraction opened to the public on February 8, 2001, at Paradise Pier as the Sun Wheel. Inspired by Wonder Wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, Coney Island, which also features both sliding and fixed gondolas, Pixar Pal-A-Round has a large pie-eyed Mickey Mouse face at its center.
Coney Island has been featured in novels, films, television shows, cartoons, and theatrical plays.
Labor Day is a 2013 American drama film written and directed by Jason Reitman, based on the 2009 novel by Joyce Maynard. The film stars Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin and was co-produced by Paramount Pictures and Indian Paintbrush, premiering at the Telluride Film Festival on August 29, 2013, and was a Special Presentation at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released in the United States on December 27, 2013.
Triple 9 is a 2016 American heist action thriller film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Matt Cook. The film stars an ensemble cast featuring Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Clifton Collins Jr., Norman Reedus, Teresa Palmer, Michael K. Williams, Gal Gadot, Woody Harrelson, and Kate Winslet.
The Dressmaker is a 2015 Australian comedy drama film co-written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Rosalie Ham. It stars Kate Winslet as femme fatale dressmaker, Myrtle "Tilly" Dunnage, who returns to a small Australian town to take care of her ailing, mentally unstable mother. The film explores the themes of revenge and creativity and was described by Moorhouse as "Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven with a sewing machine". The film was internationally co-financed between Australia and the United States. The vocal accent of Winslet with an Australian accent was universally lauded and is widely considered to be one of the greatest Australian accents by an actor not native to Australia, as well as one of the best foreign accents delivered in global film.
Café Society is a 2016 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Jeannie Berlin, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Corey Stoll, and Ken Stott. The plot follows a young man who moves to Hollywood in the 1930s, where he falls in love with the assistant to his uncle, a powerful talent agent.
The Mountain Between Us is a 2017 American survival drama film directed by Hany Abu-Assad and written by Chris Weitz and J. Mills Goodloe, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Charles Martin. It stars Idris Elba and Kate Winslet as a surgeon and a journalist, respectively, who survive a plane crash, with a dog, and are stranded in the High Uintas Wilderness with injuries and harsh weather conditions.
Jack Gore is an American actor. He is known for his role as Timmy Cleary in the ABC sitcom The Kids Are Alright (2018–2019). He also starred as Graham Henry in the NBC sitcom The Michael J. Fox Show (2013–2014) and had a recurring role as Gordie Axelrod in the Showtime series Billions (2016–2023). His film credits include Wonder Wheel, Ferdinand, Idea Home (2018), Rim of the World (2019), and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020).