Wonder Wheel is a 2017 American period drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Jim Belushi, Kate Winslet, Juno Temple, and Justin Timberlake. The film is set in the early 1950s at an amusement park on Coney Island, and named for 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 life guard.
Wonder Wheel | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Woody Allen |
Produced by |
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Written by | Woody Allen |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Vittorio Storaro |
Edited by | Alisa Lepselter |
Production company |
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Distributed by | Amazon Studios |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $25 million |
Box office | $15.4 million |
The film served as the closing night selection at the 55th New York Film Festival, on October 14, 2017, and was released on December 1, 2017, by Amazon Studios.
Screenplay
Mickey Rubin, a Coney Island life guard with aspirations 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 saves money to return to college and better her life. Ginny gets her a waitress job where she works.
Ginny used to be an actress and was happily married, but caused her husband to divorce her by being unfaithful. She and Humpty are raising her young son Ritchie, a troubled boy who habitually gets in trouble by setting fires. She is unhappy with Humpty and living on the boardwalk, and has been carrying on an affair with Mickey for a few months. Humpty is an angry and loud recovering alcoholic who runs the Carousel ride, and goes fishing with his friends to bring dinner home. But he starts to find more joy and patience for life with Carolina around, and he pays for her to go to night school.
Mickey is attracted to Ginny because of her age and experience, and because he views her as a damsel 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 with 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, asking Humpty, and 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 stutter, realizing her opportunity to have Carolina away from Mickey, and hangs up. Mickey tells Carolina the whole truth about his feelings for her and his affair. Instantly feeling compassionate for everyone involved, Carolina decides to walk home alone to process the information and decide what she should 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 finds out 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 found 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 rut in life status quo.
- Kate Winslet as Ginny Rannell, Humpty's wife and Carolina and Richie's mother
- Justin Timberlake as Mickey Rubin, a lifeguard and the film's narrator
- Juno Temple as Carolina Rannell, Humpty's grown daughter from his first marriage
- Jim Belushi as Humpty Rannell, a recovering alcoholic, Ginny's husband, and Carolina and Richie's father
- Jack Gore as Richie Rannell, Ginny's young son
- Tony Sirico as Angelo, a gangster
- Steve Schirripa as Nick, a gangster
- Debi Mazar as Birthday Party Guest
- Thomas Guiry as Flirtatious Man at Ruby's
- Max Casella as Ryan - Fishing Buddy
- David Krumholtz as Jake - Mickey's Friend
Casting
Kate Winslet was the first actor who came on board for the film, in July 2016, followed by Juno Temple and Jim Belushi. Allen, describing the casting process, said that, "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." 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."
Allen later signed Justin Timberlake in the role of a lifeguard, 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?'" On August 19, 2016, Tony Sirico joined the cast. In September 2016, Jack Gore, Steve Schirripa, and Max Casella rounded out the cast of the film.
Filming
Principal photography began in Coney Island on September 15, 2016. On the same day, filming took place at Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn around Hudson Avenue and Gold Street. Timberlake and Temple were spotted filming at Brighton Beach on September 16, 2016, and Winslet and Timberlake filmed scenes at Coney Island on September 19, 2016.
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, the same day as Allen's 82nd birthday.
Box office
Wonder Wheel grossed $1.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $13.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $14.9 million.
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.
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.
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 30% based on 183 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." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
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."
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."
Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Chris Nash found the film to be relatively weak, giving it a C- rating, and stating: "The love triangle is stagy and unfolds with way too many complications and betrayals. It's undercooked even by the filmmaker's own late-career standards. Yes, Coney Island has never looked more gorgeously golden-hued (thanks to cinematographer Vittorio Storaro), but Allen has seldom been less sharp."
Accolades
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Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Hollywood Film Awards | November 4, 2017 | Hollywood Actress Award | Kate Winslet | Won | |
St. Louis Film Critics Association | December 10, 2017 | Best Cinematography | Vittorio Storaro | Nominated |